NetHui is New Zealand’s multi-stakeholder Internet governance and policy conference.
The 6th annual NetHui took on a different format to previous years, adopting a road-trip style setup and visiting three locations across New Zealand. We hosted one-day events in Nelson, South Auckland and Rotorua, encouraging a wider spread of participation from the regions.
We had more than 300 attendees across the three locations; 66% of participants were attending NetHui for the first time.
The discussions at NetHui 2016 were diverse, engaging, and eye-opening at times! It is always fantastic to bring New Zealanders together to talk about the Internet. We talked about how we can improve access, better educate people to use the Internet for their benefit, and how we can best harness the Internet for our country and people. Specific discussions also focused on Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) and the Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI), Māori ICT, culture and heritage online, and disability and Internet use.
The events were overwhelmingly enjoyed by attendees, with the feedback survey showing 88.7% of respondents being either extremely or moderately satisfied, and 74% being either extremely likely or very likely to recommend NetHui to a friend.
What respondents liked most about NetHui 2016 included the topics, the people they met, the open nature of feedback discussion, the expertise of people, the community involvement, the cross selection of those involved, the open-mindedness and collegiality.
A report on the NetHui Roadtrip 2016 is now available, which includes feedback from the participant survey as well as information about attendance, media coverage, sponsorship and budget.
The NetHui Roadtrip 2016 was a great success in getting out into New Zealand to bring local communities together to help shape the future of the Internet. We at InternetNZ also value the NetHui discussions as they help us when planning our work and focusses for the future.
In 2017, NetHui will be returning to the national three-day format. We are working on options now for NetHui 2017. And, as usual, we’ll be looking to the community to help pull together the program and make NetHui 2017 a success!
Megan Baker is Communications Manager for InternetNZ.
The views expressed by the authors of this blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of APNIC. Please note a Code of Conduct applies to this blog.