New Zealand’s gifted education community has scored a huge success. In 2013, for the first time ever, the biennial conference of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children will be held in New Zealand.
The World Conference is the highlight on the international calendar for those involved in this field. It attracts leading researchers and practitioners from all points of the globe. Hundreds of teachers, administrators, counselors, psychologists and parents meet to share new research findings and practical developments for able students.
Held every two years, the WCGTC conference is usually located in Europe, America or Asia and has never ventured this far south before. Bringing it to New Zealand will open vistas of knowledge and experience only a handful of New Zealand teachers have had the opportunity to engage with before now.
It will also create an opportunity to showcase what New Zealand itself can do in this field. The Kiwi reputation for taking the initiative has led to some outstanding work in some schools and in some individual programmes, which will be reflected in some of the conference activities.
Many months of planning, organising and fundraising now lie ahead. However the committee which submitted the successful bid to bring the World Conference to New Zealand has a remarkably comprehensive membership including professional and parent groups and key individuals from throughout the entire country. Co-chairs Elaine Le Sueur and Rosemary Cathcart say they will be drawing on the diverse strengths of the committee to create a conference that’s as exceptional and interesting as the children themselves. “The ideas are flowing in already,” they say. “Watch this space!”
