From Rose Wilkinson, Chief Executive

Preparation is already underway for our 2026 AGM and Conference event. The Board finalised dates, venue, and the theme during its November Annual Planning Meeting.

Theme: ‘Times are changing – Are we surviving or thriving?’ is the chosen theme. This stems in part from the declining rate of Ordinary financial Members and is intended to focus on what Blind Citizens NZ needs to do to remain relevant and sustainable into the future. A key outcome of the Board’s decision is to engage with members, asking for ideas about guest presenters and topics, along with a request for additional input that could be utilised towards the work happening on a new organisational Strategic Plan.

For example, when thinking about the digital divide, in our communications with members, and our organisational advocacy with government agencies and others, we do all we can to remove challenges that contribute to the digital divide. In a world where Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more and more a way of working and communicating, this can add to challenges. At the same time, it may well assist in removing them. This may be an area to comment on. Therefore, in addition to sharing your thoughts about topics and presenters, let’s know ‘what is changing in your world that we should all know more about?’ Ideally, the Board would prefer to receive your thoughts and ideas in time to consider them at its first meeting in 2026. You are encouraged to send these via one of the following options no later than Sunday, 8 February:

• Phone: 0800 222 6940 (leave a message if you reach voicemail, and we will return your call); or
• Email: admin@blindcitizensnz.org.nz; or
• Post: PO Box 7144, Newtown, Wellington 6242.

Venue: The Ascot Hotel in Invercargill is the confirmed venue for the 2026 AGM and Conference, and is a facility Blind Citizens NZ has used on a couple of occasions. The aim is to have registration costs available no later than 31 March 2026.

Dates: Held over two full days, the AGM and Conference will start at 9:00am on Friday, 9 October, finishing at the conclusion of the Conference Dinner, on Saturday, 10 October. As in the past, attendees are encouraged to arrive the day prior and leave on Sunday.

Side Events: This is a heads-up that side events are planned. These are in-person opportunities for those people travelling to attend the AGM and Conference event. Although there is a little time to go before these are finalised, the aim is to hold those we’ve held previously, while potentially including some new options that may be held in parallel, such as for men and women, and older and younger people. Advanced information about side events assists people with early travel bookings. On this basis, information on the finalised side events will be published no later than 30 May.