Dr Diane Menzies ONZM of New Zealand has been awarded the 2026 IFLA Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award, the highest honour the International Federation of Landscape Architects bestows for lifetime achievement. The award was presented at the opening of the IFLA 62nd World Congress in Hong Kong, where she delivered a presentation reflecting on her career, joined on stage by colleagues who have accompanied her along the way. IFLA President Dr Bruno Marques presented the award. The 2026 IFLA President’s Award went to Maria Gabriella Trovato.

Of Rongowhakaata and Te Aitanga a Mahaki descent, Menzies is the first Indigenous person and the first recipient from Oceania to receive the award, and the fifth woman. Last year’s recipient was Günther Vogt.

Menzies has worked in landscape architecture for more than five decades as a practitioner, researcher, educator, and international leader. She is a former World President of IFLA and past President of the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA). She is recognised for championing the integration of Māori and Pasifika cultural values into landscape architecture and urban planning, work that earned her the Kāhui Whetū award from the Māori Design Network and an appointment as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to the environment. Holding a PhD in resource management, she has also served as a commissioner of the New Zealand Environment Court, and her career spans local government, academia, and institutional advocacy.