Renewable energy conference headed for Melbourne
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) will host the Global Wind Energy Council’s (GWEC) Asia Pacific Wind Energy Summit in September 2025.
This will be a return to Melbourne for the summit – previously known as the Offshore Wind and Green Hydrogen Summit – with the inaugural meeting held in Melbourne in 2023, and this year’s event held in South Korea.
More than 1,500 delegates are expected to attend the summit, which is anticipated to inject $5.8 million into Victoria’s economy.
With the GWEC representing businesses who are responsible for 99 per cent of installed wind energy capacity globally, the conference brings together wind energy leaders, policy makers and investors.
Chief executive of GWEC, Ben Backwell, said Melbourne was selected as the host city for its track record and commitment to renewable energy. Victoria is the only state in Australia with offshore wind targets and will soon be the first state to have offshore wind farms.
“The state of Victoria is at the leading edge of Australia’s energy transition, and we are excited to bring the global wind industry together at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in 2025,” said Backwell.
The successful bid was led by Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) in collaboration with the state Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action. The summit also received financial support from the national subvention fund, Tourism Australia’s Business Events Bid Fund.
“The return of the APAC Wind Energy Summit to Melbourne in 2025 marks a significant milestone in the region’s renewable energy journey,” said MCB CEO Julia Swanson.
“We look forward to welcoming delegates from across the globe to continue the vital work of advancing wind energy solutions and building a sustainable future.”
International Mathematical Olympiad to take place on the Sunshine Coast
The Sunshine Coast will host the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in July next year.
Held in a different country each year, the competition attracts 620 students from more than 100 countries.
The 2025 event will be held at Novotel Sunshine Coast Resort.
“This is huge for mathematics in this country,” said Australian Maths Trust CEO Nathan Ford.
“We are thrilled to be welcoming school students of Year 9 to 12 level, or equivalent, from all over the world.”
“We also can’t wait to see what our own Australian team, to be announced in May 2025, can achieve on home soil.
“The Trust is pleased that IMO 2025 will bring mathematics to the forefront next year. These students all work incredibly hard to perform at their best and it’s a testament to their dedication just to make it to IMO.
“Our vision, through supporting competitions such as IMO, is to build a nation of creative problem solvers, and we are excited to bring this opportunity to the world in 2025.”
Australia has only held the IMO once before, in Canberra in 1988.
The event has support from both the Sunshine Coast Regional Council and Visit Sunshine Coast.
“This will be a first for the Sunshine Coast – and indeed Queensland – thanks to council support through the Major Events Sponsorship Program,” said Sunshine Coast mayor Rosanna Natoli.
“Events like this strengthen our economy now and in the future, and they align with our knowledge economy, one of the high value industries important for economic growth on the Sunshine Coast.”
