Wellington set for 2025 international digital conference

New Zealand’s capital city is set to host the iPRES 21^st International Conference on Digital Presentation, which will take place in 2025 at Tākina, Wellington’s Convention and Exhibition Centre. iPRES, the oldest international conference about long-term digital preservation, is an annual event that brings hundreds of researchers and practitioners from across the world to discuss the latest research and practice for protecting and making accessible digital collections. Wellington is home to the National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, the institution leading the conference bid. The National Library has a specific focus on collecting, preserving, and making accessible the documentary heritage of New Zealand, in every format including digital. This expertise in digital preservation and the National Library’s history of engagement with the international digital preservation community, as well as Tākina’s capacity to host a hybrid conference, were key factors in the city winning the conference. Andrea Goethals, programme director at the National Library of New Zealand, said: “By hosting iPRES in Wellington we can highlight our digital preservation activities in New Zealand while showing our commitment to being part of the international effort to protect our global digital heritage.” Bjoern Spreitzer, general manager of business events at Tourism New Zealand, stated: “This is an excellent win, attracting international delegates to Wellington and bringing valuable knowledge to assist with the ongoing preservation of New Zealand’s digital heritage.” The bid for the event was supported by Business Events Wellington and Tourism New Zealand’s Business Events team. The win is also the latest in a series of wins for Tākina, which is on track to open in mid-2023. The venue will be able to accommodate a plenary of up to 1,600 delegates, alongside exhibition space and stand-alone meeting rooms.