The IWG World Conference is a highly connected, highly collaborative experience that uplifts mana (your power), stewards forward positive change for women and girls and creates a sense of belonging to a global community.

Our vision is built on three principles

• Manaakitanga: which means extending aroha (love and compassion) to others, encouraging one another or supporting new connections. Together we will secure the strength of our community.
• Kaitiakitanga: which means respecting and conserving the earth, being mindful of the impact of your behaviours, and giving back freely.
• Whanaungatanga: which means creating relationships, kinship and a sense of belonging through shared experiences and working together. It comes with rights and obligations, which serve to strengthen each member of the community.

During the IWG World Conference, we will work to connect our global community of action as a whānau (family) of passionate, committed and engaged members working together for positive and lasting change. We will support knowledge sharing, collaboration, respect and strength through belonging.

“Matariki ahunga nui” – The abundance of Matariki

Our Framework is unique and has been developed under the overall theme, “Change Inspires Change," and aligned to the kāhui whetu (star cluster), Matariki, sacred to the Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Matariki heralds new beginnings and is a predictor of good fortune, positive change and prosperity. It has been gifted for use by IWG New Zealand from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, the local Māori iwi in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland, to help us navigate the programme.

Each of our five conference themes is aligned to a different Mātariki whetū (star). We will assemble under Matariki and these themes, and the contemporary lenses we will examine them through, will form the basis of a unique, social learning programme designed by over 150+ experts in more than 30+ countries.

FIVE THEMES / NGĀ KAUPAPA E RIMA

1. Leadership | Matariki
2. Social Change | Ururangi
3. Active Lives | Waipunarangi – proudly supported by Sport New Zealand
4. High Performance | Hiwa-i-te-rangi
5. Visibility & Voice | Tipuārangi – proudly supported by Spark Sport

Each of the five themes will be examined through seven conference lenses:

SEVEN LENSES / NGĀ TIROHANGA E WHITU

1. Indigeneity | Mana Ahurea
2. Technology, Data and Innovation | Hangarau, Raraunga, Auahatanga hoki
3. Health and Wellbeing | Hauoranga
4. Systems, Resource and Investment | Pūnaha, Rawa, Haumitanga hoki
5. Environmental Sustainability | Toitūtanga Taiao
6. Human Rights | Mōtika Tangata
7. Integrity and Accountability | Tapatahitanga, Papanga hoki

SOCIAL LEARNING

Social learning is a powerful tool, and it will support and grow the impact of our global community of action for the future. Enjoy multiple opportunities for korero (conversation) in both the physical sense and in virtual rooms over the next few months, and especially during the event itself.

COUCH CHATS | HE PAE KŌRERORERO

Informal Couch Chats will be hosted by kaitiaki (guardians / facilitators) in the venue and online. They will put you at ease, make meeting people fun, and support a social learning environment.

• On Day 1, we will help you meet and connect with as many people as possible from all over the world, and we’ll help give you the tools to reconnect with them again, often, in the coming days.
• You can deep dive into your favourite whetu (theme) on Day 2. We will help you find a couch that both inspires and challenges your thinking and sets you on a pathway toward launching.
• You’ll be finding couches of like-minded people or project groups by Day 3. We’ll support you to gather and make meaning of what you are seeing and hearing for use in your own local context.
• On Day 4, as we collectively launch back into the world, you will leave with new friends and colleagues and a new community of action of your very own to lean on and learn from in future.

POP-UP PLAY | HE OHONGA TINANA

Play has the power to spark new ideas and develop imagination; we’ll be using play breaks throughout the physical and virtual events as a way to help you let off steam and absorb new information received.

Some examples of the play you will experience include:

• Wāiata (song) is incredibly important to the Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand. For centuries it was how learning and knowledge was passed from one generation to another. In a safe, fun environment, we will teach you the words and ways of our local indigenous peoples.
• Often used by wāhine Māori during Kapa Haka (traditional dancing), Poi are beautiful hand-made balls attached to flax strings swung rhythmically, often to music, to tell stories. Poi increases dexterity, concentration and agility and is proven to calm and improve the mind.
• The underlying foundation of the conference is based on the Māori storytelling traditions, represented through Rāranga (weaving). We will show you how to create your own personal weave, helping you put together the ideas you are developing into a pattern unique to you.

TURN-UP DRINKS | HE WĀ WHAKAWHANAUNGA

Our physical venue, Te Pokapū - The Aotea Centre, is located in the very heart of Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland, less than a 5-minute walk from the City Centre. The venue itself has several gathering spaces over multiple levels, which we will utilise for informal drinks in the early evenings of Day 1, 2 and 3.

If you are joining us virtually, you don’t miss out! We will be hosting online Turn-Up Drinks too, enabling you to join us for online chats on a range of topics and get to know more people from around the world.

Find out more about Te Pokapū - The Aotea Centre here. 

LOCAL ADVENTURES | NGĀ MAHINGA MĀTĀTOA

The largest city in Aotearoa New Zealand and fourth most diverse city in the world, Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland, is our economic and our cultural heart. Those joining us in person will get to see our beautiful city with many new friends and colleagues and will be able to discuss new ideas in a less formal setting.

Examples of the local adventures we will work to schedule into the programme include:

• A ferry ride and winery tour on beautiful Waiheke Island
• A hosted visit to a local Marae on the UNITEC Campus
• Snorkelling at our local Goat Island Marine Reserve
• Climbing up one of our many extinct Volcanic cones
• A tour of Eden Park, host to three Women’s World Cups
• A visit to world famous Piha beach, home to the Women’s Pro Surf
• A hosted bike tour along “The Bays” on Auckland waterfront
• A visit to the Parnell, Clevedon or Hobsonville Farmers Markets
• A cultural experience at the Auckland War Memorial Museum

Find out more about Tāmaki Makaurau, Aucklandhere.