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IUHPE’s conference is the biggest health promotion event in the world. It brings leaders from a range of sectors – from health to climate change and socio-economic development – together to share knowledge that can contribute to making the world a healthier place to live.

Sione Tu’itahi, Executive Director of The Health Promotion Forum of New Zealand (HPF), said the organisation had harboured ambitions to host the conference for some time and approached Tourism New Zealand to discuss support.

The 2019 event, ‘Waiora: Promoting Planetary Health and Sustainable Development for All, attracted 1,185 attendees from 73 countries to Rotorua and has been hailed as hugely positive experience.

Taking place in New Zealand’s Māori cultural heartland, it also provided an opportunity to showcase the potential to make the planet a better place by embracing indigenous world views.

“We saw it as a win-win opportunity. By bringing the world to New Zealand, HPF’s members and colleagues had the chance to gain knowledge and network with their peers around the world. Hosting the conference also demonstrated our leadership in health promotion, and raised the profile worldwide of our organisation and New Zealand’s health promotion and public health sectors.

“Tourism New Zealand was a wonderful and generous partner and we believe their support was pivotal to the success of our bid. They helped us fund a feasibility study so we were confident that we could manage the conference fiscally as well as in terms of the scientific program. They also financially supported us to prepare the bid, to travel and present, and continued to provide advice and support.”