PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY CHRISTCHURCHNZ Visit christchurchnz.com/meet Contact conventions@christchurchnz.com DRIVINGCHANGE The Environmental Defence Society’s (EDS) annual conference ‘The Future is Now: Biodiversity, Climate and Us’ was held in Ōtautahi Christchurch in June 2024. With 430 delegates in-person and another 60 online, it was the biggest yet, relecting serious and widespread interest in the New Zealand Government’s evolving environmental policies. The conference focused on the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, what is at stake for the nation, and where the solutions lie. Delegates from around Aotearoa took a deep dive into issues of climate, oceans, resource management, freshwater, conservation, energy and biodiversity. KEYOUTCOMES “A key theme that emerged was that we shouldn’t silo our climate and biodiversity responses: we need to address them together and transition our energy systems without causing environmental harm. To smooth that pathway there is an increasing need for everyone on all sides of the debate to engage more deeply, to foster durable solutions.” EDS CEO, GARY TAYLOR HOWTOGAIN POSITIVE MEDIA COVERAGE: • Identify angles of interest to mainstream and industry media • Invite key reporters to attend the event • Research and write good content • Target the message to suit the audience • Choose articulate spokespeople and brief them well • Engage a professional photographer (and videographer) to capture hero images • Work with your regional convention bureau to get the story out across their platforms • Consider developing a case study • Repurpose content for multiple social media channels SPREADING THEWORD The conference garnered signiicant interest from mainstream media and the wider public through engagement with social media channels. Newsroom, Newshub, RNZ, Farmers Weekly, the Otago Daily Times, and the NZ Herald all included coverage of the conference. EDS posted session updates on its LinkedIn and social media outlets which received widespread attention. A communique was issued after the conference: “Government policies failing our environment”. It included recordings of interviews with the Government Minister Hon Shane Jones (Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Regional Development and Resources, and Associate Minister for Energy) and the Labour Opposition spokesperson for the Environment, Hon Rachel Brooking. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton presented a keynote speech. Entitled “Environment and economics: A marriage of (in)convenience?”, his speech outlined “ive truths that involve some hard thinking about the sort of economy we want to have and the trade-offs that cannot be wished away.” chat with IMPACT POOLINGCOLLECTIVEWISDOM The EDS 2024 conference drew diverse participants together to galvanise progress towards solving Aotearoa New Zealand’s biggest environmental problems. International and national experts and politicians ran informative and interactive workshops on emerging issues. Presenters came from many sectors and perspectives and engaged in often frank and sometimes challenging dialogue. Conferences accelerate the development of innovative solutions to complex challenges, stimulating collaboration that helps drive change for local and global communities.
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