2015 INNZ Spring Conference and AGM

Thursday 8 October – Friday 9 October,
Wellington Zoo.

Theme: Partnerships in Action.

NOTE: Early bird fee now extended to 15 August

This year’s conference in windy Wellington will blow you away! Register now and join us in the capital for a conference of insights into successful partnerships.

We’ve made a few changes this year – a key one is to move from weekend to week-day dates. We hope this makes it easier to attend our annual conference as a professional development opportunity. And while you’re in the capital, take in a treat too, like the The World of Wearable Art Awards Show on the Friday or Saturday night.

Not to mention the inspiring line up of guest speakers:

Indigenous Partnerships in action – Respect, Permission and Ceremony

Melinda is Managing Director of Kotahi Tourism – an award-winning Australian based-business built in partnership with husband Hohepa Ruhe. Kotahi Tourism tells Aboriginal and Māori stories of Sydney and the NSW Coast , working in partnerships with Tangata Whenua – Te Iwi Moemoea (Indigenous Australians).

By working in partnership to tell stories of people and place, visitor experiences are enriched and extraordinary outcomes can be achieved. In this keynote, Melinda draws on her experience in tourism, museums and education to explore protocols, practicalities and positive outcomes of working in partnerships to interpret cultural heritage and environment.

Making connections to create a ‘Nature Capital City’

Wellington Zoo’s Chief Executive Karen Fifield is an inspirational and experienced leader in the Australasian zoo network, a twice-winner of the HER Business Network National Award in Business Leadership and a proven ‘Woman of Influence.’

Karen will introduce Nature Connections: “By working together to offer training and interpretation, the region’s eco-assets are building a cohesive and innovative environmental visitor experience to enhances the reputation of Wellington region as a place to live and visit. The result will be a coordinated story: compelling, complementary and connected experiences that make the most of Wellington’s natural capital.”

Agencies and Community working together

Matt Maitland, Chair of Sanctuaries New Zealand and Senior Ranger Open Sanctuaries (Regional Parks, Auckland Council) will co-present with one of his community conservation groups on working in partnership to develop and maintain wildlife sanctuaries integrated with other park functions, at one of the two busy regional parks (Shakespear and Tawharanui).

To achieve this, Matt has the tricky task of maintaining relationships with the community, park visitors, and managing the bureaucratic requirements of his host organisation. His challenge is to communicate science – factually correct, but still sufficiently inspirational and realistic. He is chair of Sanctuaries of New Zealand Inc.

Partners in animal conservation

Oli du Bern, Visitor Experience Manager for Wellington Zoo will take us on a guided tour of the new zoo’s new precinct with discussion of the partner voices threaded throughout the interpretation.

Oli works developing visitor experiences such as events, talks, and close encounters, as well as exhibit and interpretation design.

Telling the stories from both sides –Meretoto / Ship Cove

Steve Bagley, DOC Historic Technical Advisor, describes the process used by DOC and iwi to define the values and stories of Meretoto/Ship Cove in Queen Charlotte Sound. It’s a place of great significance to all New Zealanders, where Māori and European had first extensive contact and formed opinions of each other. The project overcame many cultural, political and aesthetic challenges to tell the stories of this place in a way that respected and maintained its mana and wairua.

Our National Museum in collaboration with Weta Workshop

Prue Donald, Exhibit Interpreter at Te Papa, will introduce us to “Gallipoli – the scale of our war”, an experience developed with Weta Workshop, before we get a chance to explore it ourselves.  “… it ended any notion that war was glorious and exciting and inevitably victorious.” Dr Christopher Pugsley in Episode 1 of behind the scenes video ‘Building Gallipoli‘

Latest Conference news

We’re thrilled to announce that researchers Bridget and Mackenzie (pictured) from The Dowse will be joining us on the Friday to talk about their innovative Wikipedia project – aimed to increase the amount of accurate and up to date information about New Zealand craft artists available online. Initiated and led by Courtney Johnston, director of The Dowse, the project has revitalised The Dowse’s reputation as a champion of NZ craft history and subsequently has served to strengthen its relationship with members of the craft community. Find out more about the Wikipedia project.

And we’ve just confirmed the details of John Pastorelli’s session ‘The expansive and insightful journey of partnerships’. John was our guest at the 2013 Spring Conference and is back for more, as our Australian colleague and expert in designing customer experiences and engagement. “Everything is partnership and nothing can work outside of a partnership. I’d like to explore this statement by sharing perspectives from my early days doing wildlife research and learning about niches, to my days working in business and how every system in business has the equivalent in ‘nature’, and the importance of niche and position to better allow us to partner with others. To create position means we need to let go of some things and embrace others … this includes both skills and attitudes. Everywhere we look something works better when in partnership. As they say in the classics “the greatest illusion in this world is the illusion of separation” Guru Pathik.

Check out the full Spring Conference Programme.

Fancy adding on a weekend in Wellington? Then book now for:

• World of Wearable Art Awards Show at TSB Bank Arena, Queens Wharf, 24 Sept – 11 Oct. http://worldofwearableart.com
• Plays at The Circa Theatre – ‘The Bookbinder’ (25 Sep – 10 Oct) and ‘Gifted’ (10 Oct – 31 Oct). http://www.circa.co.nz
• NZ Opera presents: ‘Tosca’ at the St James Theatre, Saturday 10 Oct opening night at7.30pm. http://nzopera.com/2015/tosca

Send in your registration form now to take advantage of the conference’s early bird rate, now extended until 15 August.

Conference contact: Ali Mulford – admin@innz.net.nz