Reconnecting Aotearoa: Loneliness and Connection in the Age of Social Distance
About this ebook
By combining first-person narratives, journalism and research, Reconnecting Aotearoa explores the profound impact of strong connections and the consequences of loneliness and disconnection. Through poignant personal accounts and compelling evidence, this work advocates for transformative change within Aotearoa’s unique social, cultural and political landscape, to foster a more connected and resilient society in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Contributors: Luke Fitzmaurice, Gaayathri Nair, Max Rashbrooke, Carrie Stoddart-Smith, Susan Strongman, Kiki Van Newtown, Athena Zhu
About the author
Kathy Errington was the Founding Executive Director of the Helen Clark Foundation and currently serves as the Deputy Director at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) in Auckland. Prior to this role she worked as a diplomat in the New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo from 2013–2018, and before that in the Pacific division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Her writing about internet policy can be seen in the BWB Text Shouting Zeroes and Ones published in August 2020.
Holly Walker has been working at the interface of politics, policy and advocacy for more than a decade. She is currently the Manager of Environment and Emissions Strategy at the Ministry of Transport, and she was Deputy Director at The Helen Clark Foundation from 2020–2022. Her BWB Text The Whole Intimate Mess was published in 2017. Holly Walker holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington. She is also a former Green Party MP.
