The city’s convention bureau, Business Events Wellington, has developed resources and appointed a specialist advisor to work with event organisers to shape individual legacy projects tied to their events in Wellington.
“Whatever the purpose, conferences also have the potential to create something meaningful for the community and drive wider socio-economic gain,” said Business Events Wellington manager, Irette Ferreira.
“Conferences are a powerful platform where knowledge and ideas are exchanged and discussed, and where new solutions are born out of collaboration.
“Business Events Wellington want to capture these outcomes and support our clients in achieving their legacy goals leading to social and global change.
“We provide advice and connections locally. Once a legacy project has been completed, we can also explore opportunities to maximise its impact,” she said.
The bureau has already trialled the program, working with several international conferences last November on legacy outcomes.
Although the formalised legacy initiative primarily targets international events, Business Events Wellington is also working with domestic conferences to maximise legacies from these events, including creating long-term partnerships which anchor events in New Zealand’s capital.
One such event in this category is the Life Sciences Summit, held for the first time in 2023, in Wellington. BioTech New Zealand, WellingtonNZ and Business Events Wellington have a multi-year agreement in place for the young event to be delivered in Wellington as it works to grow its domestic and international audience.
Executive director of BioTech New Zealand, Dr Zahra Champion, said Business Events Wellington had pinpointed “exactly what we hoped to achieve”.
“BEW is supporting us to expand the impact of our conference beyond the two-day summit. It has been integral in the planning of new elements, helping us with introductions and valuable advice,” said Champion.
