Wellington has added five new ambassadors across a range of disciplines to its Advocate Network, where the programme supports the city in bidding for attracting international conferences.
The five individuals are Jessica Mills, president, Psychosocial Oncology New Zealand; Nadia Pantidi – lecturer in interaction design at the School of Design Innovation, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University (VUW); Mark Lawrence, senior geologist, GNS Science; Lee Davidson, associate professor, Museum & Heritage Studies, VUW; and Paul Atkins, CEO of the Royal Society Te Apārangi.
“The internationally recognised expertise of these thought leaders and their organisations play a major role in attracting international conferences to Wellington and showcasing our research and innovation on the world stage,” said Business Events Wellington’s manager Irette Ferreira.
VUW’s Pantidi was instrumental in bidding for OzCHI 2023, the International Annual Conference on Computer Human Interaction. She pointed out: “This is an opportunity to bring people over and showcase the excellent and diverse research we do in the area of Human Computer Interaction, as well as what Aotearoa, New Zealand and specifically Wellington has to offer across several industries such as gaming, film, fine arts and tech startups.”
Meanwhile, Lee bid for and won the Conference of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies (ACHS) in 2026.
“The theme of the conference will be Whakapapa/Relationality, and how heritage connects people with each other, with the past and with the land. Delegates will be able to ground theory in practice through proximity to Wellington-based national organisations such as the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, Heritage New Zealand, the Department of Conservation, Museums Aotearoa, and Creative New Zealand,” said Davidson.
