A long-term regeneration initiative to boost jobs and skills and stimulate investment in west Auckland has earned a prestigious international economic development award.
Auckland Council and west Auckland-based iwi Te Kawerau ā Maki have received a 2026 Excellence in Economic Development Gold Award from the International Economic Development Council for Te Puna Creative Innovation Quarter in Te Kōpua Henderson.
The gold award is in the Multi-Year Collaborative Economic Development category, which recognises collaboration to further grow a community. The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) announced its award placings on 21 August. IEDC is a worldwide, Washington D.C.-based, non-profit, non-partisan membership organisation serving economic development agencies.
Te Puna Creative Innovation Quarter was established in 2022 in a partnership between council’s Economic Development Office and Te Kawerau ā Maki. Part of the Auckland Urban Development Office Unlock Henderson urban regeneration area, the quarter forms a circuit of creative and innovation-based industries linking Henderson town centre, Corban Estate Arts Centre, Auckland Film Studios, Studio West now owned by Āriki Group, and Laidlaw Tertiary College. At its heart is Te Puna Creative Hub, which has rentable performance studio spaces and is fully tenanted with creative industry businesses.
The regeneration initiative builds on Henderson’s three-decade history of screen production to create a burgeoning precinct for screen, media, digital and creative technology, art, game development, music, and performing arts.
Pam Ford, Economic Development Office General Manager, says the gold award recognises the success of the council’s partnership with Te Kawerau ā Maki and their shared, long-term vision.
“We’re working together to coordinate public, private and iwi investment, and to accelerate education, training, employment and enterprise in creative industries to create pathways for future generations,” Ford says.
Robin Taua-Gordon, Chair of Te Kawerau Iwi Tiaki Trust, says international recognition of Te Puna Creative Innovation Quarter shows the power of Māori-led partnership.
"Te Puna Creative Innovation Quarter is a testament to the strength of Māori-led partnership and collaboration. It’s an example of what can be achieved when we work together towards a common goal, and I'm proud to see the positive impact it’s having on the local community and creative businesses alike.”
Te Puna Creative Hub anchor tenant Crescendo is a social enterprise specialising in audio recording, sound design, and music production, with a dedicated audiobook and podcast studio. Profit generated from the studio funds Crescendo's youth programmes for rangatahi aged 15-24. Students have given feedback that the training has given them confidence to explore creative career pathways they hadn’t considered before, with more than 80 rangatahi placed directly into employment opportunities last year.
A Crescendo student and mentor filmed Robin Taua-Gordon and Pam Ford at Te Puna Creative Hub for part of Te Puna Creative Innovation Quarter's entry video for the 2026 Excellence in Economic Development Awards.
All 2026 Excellence in Economic Development Gold Award recipients across 26 categories will be considered for a Best in Show award to be presented at an event in New Orleans in late October.