As a further sign of the much welcomed return of international events, the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE 2022) — the largest and most diverse Indigenous education forum in the world — opens today at Adelaide Convention Centre on the lands of the Kaurna Nation, the original people of the Adelaide Plains.
The five-day conference, which runs through until Friday (26 -30 September), is the largest international business event hosted in Adelaide since the onset of COVID, drawing an estimated 2,300 delegates from over 90 countries.
Supported by the South Australian Government and hosted by the Tauondi Aboriginal College and the South Australian Aboriginal Education and Training Consultative Council (SAAETCC), this week’s WIPCE event was originally scheduled to take place in Adelaide in 2020 but was postponed as a result of the pandemic.
WIPCE draws Indigenous representatives from across the globe to share successes and strategies for culturally grounded education and for in the last 30 years it has grown to a major international event in the Indigenous education movement.
Whilst this week’s conference is being offered as a hybrid event, with delegates able to participate both in-person and online, the vast majority of delegates (more than 2,000) have travelled to Adelaide.
This is great news for the South Australian businesses that work to service the visitor economy (hotels, restaurants, entertainment, retail, tour operators, transport providers etc).
WIPCE 2022 is expected to generate more than 15,500 bed nights for local hotels and deliver more than $11.3 million in economic benefit to South Australia, illustrating the significant role business events play in our State’s continuing recovery.
Delegates attending this week’s WIPCE 2022 will be treated to an exciting Indigenous education program featuring eight keynote presentations and more than 300 interactive workshops, along with networking, yarning circles, master classes and an associated rich and diverse cultural program.
In addition, delegates attending the conference in person will also have opportunity to sample South Australia’s incredible produce, another major drawcard for visitors to our State.
Zoe Bettison MP, Minister for Tourism says “This week’s World Indigenous People’s Conference on Education (WIPCE 2022) conference highlights the important value business events play in South Australia’s ongoing COVID-19 recovery.
“As South Australia’s visitor economy continues to rebound from the impacts of COVID-19, business events will continue to play a pivotal role.
“WIPCE 2022 is just one of 71 major conferences secured at the Adelaide Convention Centre for the 2022-23 financial year to date.
“Collectively, these events will play a significant role in our State’s continued recovery, bringing an estimated 36,780 interstate and international visitors to Adelaide, generating more than 200,000 bed nights and injecting more than $205 million in economic benefit into the local economy, which is a record for the Adelaide Convention Centre.
“It’s great news for local business and great news for South Australia.”
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