SYDNEY has won the rights to host the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Congress, a prominent global forum on parks and protected areas which is held only once in 10 years, in 2014.
To be held at Sydney Olympic Park, the congress is expected to attract 3,000 delegates and inject some A$24 million (US$24.4 million) into the New South Wales economy.
“Securing the IUCN World Parks Congress had involved both a whole-of-industry and whole-of-government approach. It is brilliant to see this hard work return such a favourable result for Australia,” said Lyn Lewis-Smith, CEO of Business Events Sydney (BESydney), which had worked closely with the Australian government and the New South Wales Parks in the event bid.
Lewis-Smith added: “(The congress) will also see world conservation leaders gather in Sydney to debate, innovate and collaborate on the most pragmatic solutions to conservation and developmental change. This opportunity for Australians to exchange knowledge with global counterparts and to showcase local expertise (comes) at a time when conservation is high on our national agenda.
“BESydney continues to champion the message that the benefits of business events extend beyond the congress doors and have broader social impacts on our industries, economies and communities through their inherent knowledge exchange, networking and debate of industry issues.”
