Business Events Wellington (BEW) is celebrating the successful first year of its Legacy Programme, with 12 conferences contributing to new career pathways, regulatory advancements, and investment opportunities.
BEW manager Irette Ferreira highlights the programme’s dual purpose - helping host organisations achieve their strategic objectives while fostering positive change through conferences.
“By facilitating, measuring, and documenting these actions, we can see the wider positive impacts these conferences have generated beyond the benefits to Wellington’s visitor economy,” Ferreira explains.
Measurable impact
Key objectives for participating conferences included
strengthening industry connections, attracting investment, promoting diversity,
improving government support, and raising public awareness of career
opportunities.
- 82 per cent of attendees reported achieving their primary objective for attending
the conference.
- 75 per cent indicated they would implement new ideas or practices as a result of
their participation.
Conference highlights
Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC 58) tackled
the lack of diversity in the younger IT workforce. BEW connected APNIC with
Tūhura Tech and Summer of Tech, encouraging IT students to attend. Victoria
University of Wellington also sponsored 20 students, fostering greater
participation and industry engagement.
Life Sciences Summit 2024 focused on raising
government awareness of the biotech sector and advocating for updated gene
modification regulations. By hosting the event in Wellington, industry leaders
engaged directly with policymakers. As a result, the government recognized
biotech as one of its top three science priorities and committed to drafting
new gene regulations with input from industry experts.
Wellington Games Week was a standout initiative
supporting the NZ Game Developers Conference (NZGDC) 2024 in growing New
Zealand’s gaming industry. The week featured 24 events celebrating Wellington’s
gaming culture, attracting 1,500 attendees. NZGDC’24 also welcomed four international
scouts and hosted a city familiarisation tour, sparking increased interest from
global gaming studios and investors in establishing operations in Wellington.
Looking ahead
With an exciting lineup of international conferences set for
2025, BEW is poised to build on the programme’s success.
“We are excited about 2025,” Ferreira adds. “The city is
welcoming an excellent lineup of international conferences this year, many of
whom are looking to make a positive impact on Wellington and Aotearoa."
