Putting connection, joy and enthusiasm into paediatrics
An international conference for the paediatric community, Don’t forget the Bubbles (DFTB) was held for the first time in New Zealand at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre in August 2024.
Founded in 2013, Don’t Forget the Bubbles was established by four paediatric specialists from the UK and Australia who wanted to deliver high-quality online and face-to-face education and content in a different way.
Co-founder Tessa Davis, a Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at the Royal London Hospital and a Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, says DFTB24 helped to grow and strengthen the community of paediatric medicine in the Canterbury region and New Zealand, contributing to the local health sector knowledge economy.
Local perspectives
“We brought together our community of paediatric clinicians in Christchurch, for the first time outside of the United Kingdom and Australia,” said Tessa. “We knew it was really important to get the Christchurch professional community involved in connecting and networking with our international community.”
The first part of the programme was devoted to Indigenous health sessions looking at the power of family in healthcare. “It is so important to have these Indigenous sessions to make sure that we really value the people of the land where we are running the conference,” Tessa said.
A special cultural activation was set up at the DFTB exhibition hall for three days of the conference. Staffed by three generations (mother, daughter, grandmother) to gift pepeha (a life story) to each delegate, explaining the meaning of its symbolic importance in Māori culture, its etymology, and its legacy. Each pepeha was stamped with the delegate’s place of origin and given to them as a keepsake.
Dedicated to sustainability
Sustainability was also an important part of the conference. “Over the years we’ve always tried to ensure we are sustainable and not wasteful,” said Tessa, “and Te Pae Christchurch’s status as a Toitū net carbonzero venue was a strong reason to conference here.”
A range of sustainability initiatives were part of the conference planning, including the use of organic materials for merchandise, the recycling and repurposing of staging materials, and the donation of left-over collateral to Ronald McDonald House children’s charities.
The location of the venue also played its part in the sustainability of the conference, given the proximity of Te Pae Christchurch to hotels, shopping and entertainment precincts. Due to the walkability of the city, 98% of attending delegates reported that they did not catch any form of transport after arriving at their hotel to departing to the airport four days later.
Welcoming first-time visitors
For many of the delegates, including co-founder Tessa, this was their first time in New Zealand.
“It was fabulous. We were really pleased half of our attendees were from New Zealand, which was a new audience for us, really pleased they embraced it, and half of our speakers were from New Zealand too,” she said.
“Christchurch was so beautiful. We were lucky to have a walking tour and we got a feel for it and to hear about the history. It was very special, and so accessible – everything was so close. Te Pae Convention Centre was wonderful, and the winter weather was amazing.”
Seamless planning
Emma Bowyer, CEO of Professional Conference Organiser ICMS Australasia, which produced the event, said that one of the drivers for opening an office in Christchurch was to help convince its clients to host their meetings at Te Pae.
“The Te Pae Christchurch team excelled from the pre-planning process and right until execution,” said Emma. “Team members, whether they be in sales, operations, food and beverage and audio visual, express a care and dedication that made our time over the last year a joy.”
From digital signage, special entrance features, individual room stage sets and rigging hundreds of umbrellas in the exhibition hall for a ‘welcome reception party like no other’, Emma says that a range of special touches brought a great deal of personalisation to the conference. “This really helped accentuate the unique sense of place.”
Emma says were the delegates extremely impressed by the experience – with the quality of the catering receiving particular praise, as well as the family-friendly nature of the venue, which allowed delegates with babies to care for them onsite.
Not only has the profession benefitted from the event, according to Emma, the conference will also pay lasting dividends for the region.
“The legacy goals of the founders, in the area of paediatrics, will leave a long-term impact on training and resources for Christchurch residents.”
