The meetings cover three diverse areas in which Wellington’s tertiary institutions have research specialities – marine climate change, popular music and network engineering.
“Our close partnership with Victoria University of Wellington has been the catalyst to getting these important conferences to the city,” said Business Events Wellington manager, Irette Ferreira.
“It is clear there is immense value in collaborating with local tertiary education providers to help secure conferences that have a positive impact on the city, its people and its visitors.
“Here in Wellington, we maintain a strong focus on attracting conferences and events aligned to our intellectual capital – not only to ensure we offer innovative content to visiting delegates, but also to maximise the benefits to the city through international networking and global exposure.”
The first of the three conferences won, the International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications 2026, will take place in New Zealand’s capital in April next year at the University of Wellington, hosted by Dr Winston Seah, a network engineering professor at the university.
Later in 2026, the International Symposium on the Ocean in a High-CO2 World will be held at Wellington’s young convention centre, Tākina.
“The effects of climate change threaten our marine ecosystems and resources,” said Victoria University of Wellington’s senior lecturer in marine biology, Dr Christopher Cornwall.
“Ocean acidification, warming and other stressors are manifesting now.
“As New Zealand’s scientists, communities, mana whenua and government are poised to tackle these difficult questions, this is the ideal time and location for them to come together with other world leaders in this field.”
Then, in 2027, the city will host the Conference of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM 2027).
“This is an ideal opportunity to showcase Aotearoa’s rich and diverse musical cultures to international audiences,” said chair of the organising committee for IASPM 2027, Dr. Geoff Stahl, who is director of communication at Victoria University of Wellington.
“It’s also an opportunity to celebrate the graduation of the first cohort of the new Bachelor of Popular Music degree, the first of its kind in Aotearoa New Zealand, who will be graduating in December 2027.”
Tourism New Zealand supported all three Wellington conference bids.
“We’re proud to have supported these bids through our Conference Assistance Programme,” said Tourism New Zealand’s global manager of business events, Penelope Ryan.
“These wins highlight the strong connections between New Zealand’s convention bureaus and research and innovation networks and it’s fantastic to see these events bringing international thought leaders to Wellington and New Zealand.”
