Waikato will welcome around 800 international Indigenous studies experts in June 2019.
Tourism New Zealand worked with the University of Waikato and Hamilton and Waikato Tourism to secure the annual Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) conference.
The event will put the region on the world stage as a cultural hub and is expected to deliver more than $1.7 million to the economy.
“Waikato’s strong cultural links, activities and the University’s indigenous studies expertise was a winning combo and convinced the event organisers to bring the conference to New Zealand for the first time,” says Lisa Gardiner Business Events and Premium Manager, Tourism New Zealand.
University of Waikato Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies, Brendan Hokowhitu’s long held relationship with NAISA was instrumental in securing the event.
“This is a fantastic achievement to bring NAISA to Aotearoa, as it has never been hosted outside of the US and Canada before. So it’s a real coup for us. As the world’s preeminent Indigenous Studies conference, hosting NAISA will put the University and the region on the world stage and will allow the University of Waikato to establish a really strong bond with the most important Indigenous academic association in the world.
It’s an incredible opportunity for staff and students from Indigenous Studies and other cognate disciplines from all over Aotearoa/New Zealand to interact with some of the best Indigenous minds, to refresh, refocus and rethink our curricula, research and scholarship in terms of Indigenous Studies as an international discipline.”