North Shore City to host international cities conference

November 3, 2006

North Shore City has been selected to host next year's 8th International Cities, Town Centres and Communities Society Conference (ICTC).

It's the first time the ICTC has been held in New Zealand and it will be at the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna, from June 26 to 28, 2007.

The conference, Cities on the Edge, targets planners, developers, architects, business associations, engineers, transport managers, urban designers, resource managers, economic development managers and anyone else with an interest in the design, development and maintenance of cities and town centres.

The conference is organised by the ICTC Society in Australia, with North Shore City Council steering the event locally.

Councillors Gary Holmes, Kevin Schwass and Peter White will join industry and tourism representatives alongside Enterprise North Shore, the Bruce Mason Centre and other interested parties, forming a local advisory committee to maximise the opportunities of having the conference in the city.

"We aim to make the most of having a conference of this nature in our city as it will provide a chance for learning, presenting and networking with an international audience," says North Shore City's strategic management committee chairman, Gary Holmes.

"Having this conference on our doorstep provides major benefits, including the chance for council professionals and local industry experts to present on town centre and urban design innovations around North Shore City.

"With this comes the added bonus of professional networking, the chance to raise the profile of our city, and the economic benefits we're expecting from the influx of national and international visitors," says Councillor Holmes.

Councillor Kevin Schwass was impressed by the organisation and content of this year's conference, which he attended in Australia a few months ago.

"The ICTC has the potential to be one of the more significant conferences to be held in North Shore City," says Councillor Schwass.

"It's a fantastic source of learning about town centres from experienced professionals of many disciplines.

"In a short space of time I learnt an incredible amount about different innovations and how other international cities are tackling urban design, planning and management issues," says Councillor Schwass.

"If we can match the last conference, which attracted more than 400 delegates and over a 100 international speakers, that's a very exciting prospect in terms of economic development and tourism," he says.

ICTC 2007 will include renowned New Zealand, Australian and international speakers, supported by a trade exhibition highlighting the latest products from key suppliers and field trips to projects in North Shore City and the wider Auckland Region.

If you're interested in presenting a paper at the conference or your business identifies a marketing opportunity and you'd like to consider becoming a sponsor or exhibitor, please visit www.ictcsociety.org, or for more information contact Actionline on 486 8600.

ENDS

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