Museums Aotearoa and Museums Australia combine to stage first ever joint conference

Australia and New Zealand's peak museums associations, Museums Aotearoa and Museums Australia, are combining to stage their first ever joint conference in Auckland in May.

With the theme Facing the Future: Local, Global and Pacific Possibilities, the three day conference will explore the relevance and sustainability of museums and galleries now and in the future, and the ways in which museums we can be of social, cultural and ecological value.

Aiming to cross cultures and disciplines, the conference will include a full program of events, activities and extended tours, with a strong emphasis on the cultures of the Asia-Pacific region.

The joint conference will also include presentation of the 2016 ServiceIQ New Zealand Museum Awards.

New Zealand museums and galleries care for more than 40 million items relating to our history and contribute to our national identity. Generating in excess of 1,000 public exhibitions and publications and attracting over 8 million visits each year, museums and galleries are a top attraction for New Zealand's overseas visitors.

There is unprecedented growth in the establishment and development of museum facilities and services in New Zealand.

Over 3,500 people are currently employed in New Zealand museums, and at least twice that number of volunteers while total annual museum operating and capital expenditure is in excess of $300 million.

New Zealand museums are actively focused on enriching their communities by enhancing the quality of their facilities, collections, programmes, products and services and playing a pivotal role in the national heritage, education, leisure, and tourism sectors, they demonstrate and profile New Zealand's innovation and leadership internationally.

The  joint conference is being held from 15th to 19th May with the Aotea Centre (pictured above) serving as the main conference venue

Click here for more information on the conference in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

For more information on the ServiceIQ New Zealand Museum Awards go to www.museumsaotearoa.org.nz/nz-museum-awards

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