TUANZ symposium connecting rural New Zealand.

4th April 2016

The TUANZ Rural Connectivity Symposium is back for 2016, on 28th April at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

Building on the valuable networks and relationships formed at the successful 2015 event, TUANZ will bring internet service providers, health providers and rural end-users of telecommunications together again to talk about the opportunities and challenges of internet access and connectivity in rural New Zealand.

This year’s symposium is being held in conjunction with Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand (RHĀNZ), and New Zealand Young Farmers (NZYF). It will kick off with an opening address from Communications Minister Amy Adams, and ‘State of the Nation’ speeches from agribusiness and banking leaders.

Each of the day’s speakers come from varied backgrounds, including health, farming, businesses and technology, and will share their thoughts about the future of connectivity in rural New Zealand.

TUANZ CEO Craig Young says that the focus of the day is going to be on how rural connectivity can provide better outcomes across three important areas: health, liveability, and business.

“The symposium provides a unique opportunity for those affected by rural connectivity in New Zealand to present a unified voice as the government begins to move into the next phase of the rural broadband initiative”, says Mr Young.

“RHĀNZ in partnership with TUANZ and NZYF is committed to influencing the debate and policy decisions around rural connectivity with the input of those most affected by the issue – the rural residents of New Zealand”, says RHĀNZ Chief Executive, Michelle Thompson.

Attendees will be actively involved during the symposium, with two workshop sessions, and panel discussions throughout the day. The partners will also publish a post-symposium paper as a summary of the major themes to emerge out of the day, both for distribution to attendees, and to help shape the thinking of internet providers and government policy makers.

If you are interested in helping rural communities be part of the 21st century in New Zealand, you can register to attend on the RHĀNZ and TUANZ websites.

The symposium is on Thursday 28th April from 9am–5pm, at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium, and will be followed by networking drinks. Registration costs $120 for TUANZ, RHĀNZ and NZYF members, or $250 for non-members.

ENDS

© Scoop Media