Event Gallery
Global Indigenous educators, leaders and knowledge keepers united in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, blending traditional wisdom with formal education to help shape the future of learning.
Event: World Indigenous Peoples' Conference on Education (WIPCE) 2025
Key event facts
|
3800 |
16,600+ |
$8.275M |
| delegates | visitor nights | economic impact |
Date: 16 to 20 November 2025
Key venues: Aotea Centre, Aotea Square, The Cloud, Ōrākei Marae, Queen Street
Sector impact: Reinforced Auckland’s reputation as a destination where Indigenous leadership is respected and where knowledge exchange can influence global education practice.
A global movement finds its voice in Auckland
For five extraordinary days in November 2025, the world’s largest gathering of Indigenous educators, innovators and advocates filled Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland with song, ideas and connection. The World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE) returned to Aotearoa after two decades, transforming Aotea Centre and Aotea Square into a meeting place for knowledge, culture and collaboration.
Hosted by Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland University of Technology (AUT) alongside iwi manaaki Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, WIPCE 2025 welcomed around 3800 delegates – the highest number ever recorded for an academic conference in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Attendees from more than 40 countries gathered in Tāmaki Makaurau, each bringing wisdom rooted in place, people and purpose. Together, they explored how Indigenous worldviews can shape education systems that honour both traditional knowledge and contemporary innovation.
Professor Meihana Durie, WIPCE 2025 Co-Chair says Auckland was well-placed to host the conference, which had flow-on effects for delegates and the local community.
“The real success of WIPCE being here in Tāmaki Makaurau is the city’s ability to host an event of this scale – nearly 4000 people. This has had a transformative impact not only on the people that attended the conference but Aucklanders as well. People tuned into the outstanding kōrero, conversation, and the neat things like the Indigenous Te Ao Pūtahi Festival at Aotea Square with some outstanding performers, lots of kai, food, and lots of stalls. Tāmaki Makaurau delivered and we’re really pleased.”
Partnership and purpose
Delivering an event of this scale required collaboration grounded in shared values. From the moment Auckland was selected as host city, WIPCE 2025 organisers, AUT; iwi (tribe) Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei; Tourism New Zealand; and Auckland Convention Bureau, a division of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, the region’s cultural, events and destination agency, worked in partnership to ensure the kaupapa (principle) of manaakitanga (generosity) guided every detail.
When the New Zealand International Convention Centre’s opening was delayed, Auckland’s event community rallied quickly. Auckland Conventions, Venues and Events reshaped schedules to secure Aotea Centre as the new home for WIPCE. The result was a seamless transition that kept the conference in Auckland and set a new benchmark for collaboration across the city’s venues and partners.
Richard Dodds, Head of Sales at Auckland Conventions, Venues and Events, says the experience showcased the power of Auckland’s event community working as one for the benefit of the region.
“The Auckland Conventions, Venues and Events team worked closely with Auckland Live – New Zealand’s largest platform for live arts and entertainment – to adjust the schedule and make the dates work. Everyone recognised how important it was to retain this event for Auckland. It’s a fantastic example of the city’s venues and partners coming together for the greater good.”
Where culture and capability converge
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland was a fitting home for WIPCE 2025. It is the world’s largest Māori and Polynesian city and a place where Indigenous knowledge is not just acknowledged but lived.
Delegates experienced this every day of the conference. From the official welcoming from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei at The Cloud on Auckland’s waterfront, to the bilingual wayfinding and Indigenous artworks throughout Aotea Centre, to Te Ao Pūtahi Festival – a vibrant celebration of Indigenous culture open to both locals and visitors – Auckland’s cultural identity shaped the rhythm of the event.
Dr Noe Noe Wong-Wilson, WIPCE International Council Chair says Auckland’s diverse population was a drawcard for hosting the conference.
“Tāmaki Makaurau stood out as host for WIPCE because we knew we would be welcomed warmly by the Māori community. We were very interested in learning and sharing more about what this community has to offer and knew it would be a good place for all of us to convene to exchange knowledge with Indigenous communities from around the world.”
Behind the scenes, Auckland Convention Bureau played a key role in supporting organisers from the very beginning, helping prepare the winning bid, advising on logistics, and connecting AUT and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei with the city’s venues, suppliers and cultural partners.
Nick Hill, Chief Executive of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, says WIPCE exemplifies Auckland’s ability to host events with deep cultural and social impact.
“Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and its business events arm, Auckland Convention Bureau, were proud to welcome the world’s Indigenous education leaders to WIPCE 2025. This gathering reflects who we are as a region enriched by more than 200 ethnicities. It’s both a privilege and a powerful reminder of how business events can bring people together, spark innovation, and create lasting legacies for our region – strengthening international networks, advancing Indigenous knowledge, and showcasing Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland as a place where culture and innovation thrive side by side.”
Global learning, local leadership
At its heart, WIPCE 2025 explored how Indigenous knowledge can transform the way the world teaches, learns and leads. Presentations and workshops ranged from ancestral science to digital innovation, from climate action to community wellbeing. Each day blended rigorous discussion with celebration – a reflection of the Māori principle that learning is most powerful when it engages the head, the heart and the hands.
For Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, hosting WIPCE was more than a logistical success; it was an affirmation of the region’s role as a leader in Indigenous education and collaboration. Home to two of New Zealand’s largest universities and the country’s biggest population of Māori and Pacific peoples, Auckland provided fertile ground for cross-cultural dialogue and research exchange.
“Tāmaki Makaurau is distinctive in the fact that the city is the largest Māori and Polynesian city in the world. That’s significant and means we’re able to host conferences on the backdrop of a diverse population. The energy that emanates from Tāmaki Makaurau is really something that WIPCE participants, as Indigenous nations, have really enjoyed,” says Meihana Durie.
The event also connected delegates with the region’s growing innovation and technology ecosystem, where Indigenous-led thinking increasingly shapes sustainable design, digital storytelling and environmental management.
WIPCE 2025 keynote speaker, Associate Professor Mere Skerrett, says Auckland’s growing technology and innovation sectors provided fertile ground for dialogue connecting Indigenous knowledge with global research.
“Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland is a great place to have conversations about science, technology and innovation because it is easy to access and is a melting pot of all sorts of different people. Auckland is a hub for Indigenous talent, research and collaboration and it can scale up to amplify voices and information – from local to global.”
Discovery beyond the conference floor
Outside the sessions, WIPCE delegates experienced Tāmaki Makaurau in ways that deepened their understanding of its people and place. Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, through Auckland Convention Bureau, worked closely with organisers to curate cultural and social activities that showcased the region’s diversity and manaakitanga.
From guided visits to attractions such as the All Blacks Experience and Wētā Workshop Unleashed, to cultural excursions – including a waka hourua sailing on Te Waitematā Harbour to an immersive Māori experience at Te Ihu o Mataoho, the oldest continuously occupied Māori village in Tāmaki Makaurau – each excursion connected delegates with stories of identity, resilience and creativity.
A highlight of the week was an Indigenous culinary experience that brought together chefs from Aotearoa, Australia, Canada, the United States and Hawaii. The global collective demonstrated Indigenous cooking methods at Ōrākei Marae, celebrating native ingredients and traditional techniques. The chefs also visited Velskov, a native forest farm in the Waitākere Ranges, to forage and share knowledge about Indigenous food systems and sustainability.
Karen Thompson-Smith, Head of Tourism at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, says these experiences turned connection into legacy through food, culture and conversation.
“What better way to deepen understanding than through shared experiences that celebrate who we are and tell stories of place, ancestry and innovation. For many attendees, Auckland’s mix of natural beauty, accessibility and cultural energy made the region itself part of the learning experience. Tāmaki Makaurau became a living classroom where the values of kaitiakitanga, guardianship, and kotahitanga, unity, were visible at every turn.”
Legacy in motion
While WIPCE 2025 brought an immediate economic lift – with around 3800 delegates generating more than 16,600 visitor nights and an estimated $8.275 million in regional economic impact – its true value lies in the legacies it leaves behind.
The conference strengthened international networks in Indigenous education, research and policy, creating opportunities for future collaborations between Auckland-based academics, iwi and Indigenous institutions abroad. It also amplified Māori and Pacific peoples’ leadership within Aotearoa New Zealand’s education sector, inspiring rangatahi and reaffirming te reo Māori and mātauranga (knowledge) as cornerstones of modern learning.
Helen Te Hira, Director of Māori Outcomes at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, says WIPCE aligns with the organisation’s commitment to Māori outcomes and the visibility of te ao Māori in the region’s identity.
“The kaupapa of WIPCE – to share and protect Indigenous knowledge – sits at the heart of who we are in Tāmaki Makaurau. We’re honoured to host this global gathering of Indigenous excellence which will leave a legacy that extends far beyond its five days, inspiring our people, strengthening global Indigenous connections, and reaffirming the vital role of mātauranga, knowledge, in shaping our shared future. The benefits of WIPCE will live on long after the people have gone, helping ensure Māori knowledge and leadership continue to be visible in how our region grows and connects with the world.”
The wider community also benefitted. Through Te Ao Pūtahi – a free festival of culture, art and performance in Aotea Square – Aucklanders joined delegates in celebrating Indigenous excellence. This public interface extended the reach of WIPCE beyond conference rooms and into everyday life, creating moments of pride and shared experience.
A region built on connection
Hosting WIPCE was a reminder that Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland is more than a meeting destination. It is a place where people come to connect ideas, cultures and futures. The region’s ability to combine world-class infrastructure with authenticity of place is what sets it apart.
Auckland’s accessibility, urban energy and seamless visitor experience left a lasting impression on delegates, who found the city easy to navigate and welcoming at every turn. That experience wasn’t lost on organisers.
“It's easy to get to Auckland from around the world and once you arrive here, the airport is only minutes away from the conference venue. Hosting WIPCE in an urban setting was a little different for us, but Tāmaki Makaurau delivered, and our delegates really enjoyed themselves. Auckland is an absolutely beautiful city, surrounded by water, with lovely architecture, and is energised by people and the nightlife. The Aotea Centre is a jewel for Auckland, and our delegates found it easy to access from whichever hotel they were staying in,” says Dr Noe Noe Wong-Wilson.
Wisdom shared and a lasting legacy
For Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, WIPCE 2025 was more than a successful international event. It was a living expression of the region and its people, honouring culture, values learning and welcoming the world with warmth and generosity of spirit. The conference’s impact will continue to ripple through schools, institutions and communities around the globe, strengthening connections that reach far beyond the week itself.
If you’re planning a conference or gathering that blends purpose with place, Auckland Convention Bureau can help you bring it to life.
Contact us on meet@aucklandnz.com.