CONTACT
To learn more about conferencing in Wellington, New Zealand, contact Business Events Wellington: BusinessEvents@WellingtonNZ.com WellingtonNZ.com/Meet
1,000 scholarships provided since 2011. This includes young people taking part in our Future Leaders programme, which runs year-round in some of New Zealand’s most challenged rural and provincial communities, supporting them to build their entrepreneurship and leadership skills, and make a difference in their backyard. Attending the Festival is always one of the major highlights of the year and has a real amplifier effect. “We also launchedThe Impact Awards, with $25,000 in prizes to celebrate and support young people making an impact across five major categories – climate, enterprise, global, inclusion and wellbeing.” COVID-19 forced change for everyone in 2020 – how did you cope? “Yes, venues were booked, satellite events were being planned, theMinister of Finance was due to host us at Parliament – and then COVID hit. So, we transformed Festival for the Future into a virtual summit – #FFTFLive – which was designed and delivered from scratch within three months.We curated a programme focused around four themes – climate, equality, economy and hope. It included presentations from the United Nations and The Obama Foundation. The response was incredible, and we were joined by people from 57 countries.”
What does the future of the Festival for The Future look like? “Well, we proved we can run a really high-quality virtual experience – the average rating for FFTFLive was 9.7/10.
For more information about Tourism New Zealand Business Events head to businessevents.newzealand.com
But the experience is super different. There’s nothing quite like the buzz of having 1,200 people in the same space; the atmosphere is electric. What going virtual did is open new opportunities – we could have people participating from all over the world. That worked well and the level of interest was a real confidence booster for us. We’re aiming for a hybrid event this year. “In 2023 we will move into Tākina (Wellington’s new central city convention and exhibition centre, currently under construction). It’s really exciting having a purpose-built centre; we’ve already modelled how we want the event. “Who knows what 2023 will look like, but we know you can have a great in-person experience in Wellington with easy access to NewZealand’s great outdoors and attractions; you can also have a great hybrid event thanks to its excellent connectivity, where you can weave in talent from around the world.”
AMIMAGAZINE.GLOBAL APRIL 2021 3
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