| Te Tai Tamariki
-
meaning the tide of children - is a registered
charitable trust, founding in May 2006. The Trust has
been set up
to preserve and promote New Zealand children's literature.
Our country has produced many
world renowned authors, artists and illustrators over the decades, and
more recently has
shown leadership in the use of new technologies and media to communicate
story. It is the original manuscripts, illustrations
and other media of these New Zealanders that we want to protect and
promote for the future. The Trust will continue to
both promote and collect children’s literature (broadly defined),
in a variety of media from books to digital forms.
At present, there is no central
body focusing on the collection, restoration, preservation and exhibition
of such material, and
it is feared that it will be lost if action is not taken. Te Tai Tamariki’s
vision is to create a national centre – with its base in
Christchurch – that will encourage a wide range of groups to enjoy
and celebrate New Zealand’s children’s literature. The
physical centre will be multi-faceted, with a wide variety of purposes
including entertainment, education, research and
retail. Such centres have already been established overseas as both
domestic and international tourist attractions as well as
educational centres. The concept plan for this national centre can be
read here.
While still in its early days,
the vision of Te Tai Tamariki is fast gaining the support of both the
literary world and the general public. |
