We facilitated the first Just Transition summit in Taranaki for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in May. It started the national conversation of how New Zealand could transition to a low carbon economy in a just way that supported workers and communities. With the Prime Minister Ardern, James and Suzy Cameron, and global economist Kate Raworth amongst the high profile line up of speakers, we knew the world was watching.
Our role included everything ‘behind the scenes’: pre-summit planning including securing speakers, event marketing, onsite event management, audience engagement and all things in between.
The event was a sell-out, with over 500 delegates engaging in panel discussions in the room, and many more joining online via the live stream of key sessions. Government ministers and officials, Iwi, Pacific Island country leaders, industry representatives, youth leaders and the local community all had an opportunity to join the conversation, share their concerns, and be inspired by the experiences of others.
We used an online real-time audience engagement tool to ensure those in the room and via the live stream could ask questions and participate in the debate. This also meant that we could respond by steering the event programme accordingly, pursuing topics in response to audience interest.
Taranaki played host to a great summit: delegates and speakers were highly engaged, and important connections were made. Timed to be followed closely by the first Well Being budget and the announcement of a new clean energy centre in Taranaki, it feels as though New Zealand’s Just Transition is now very much in the spotlight.
All sessions from the summit are available online for anyone who would like to engage in the debate: https://www.justtransitionsummit.nz/presentations/
