NDF26, the National Digital Forum's 2026 conference, runs 23-25 November 2026 at Harbourside Function Venue on Wellington's waterfront under the theme 'Hononga / Connections', with keynotes from Ash Mann and Lisa Reihana. A long-running (since 2002) not-for-profit gathering for NZ's GLAM and digital-heritage sector.
The National Digital Forum returns to Wellington for its 2026 edition (NDF26) from 23 to 25 November, with conference days on 23-24 November and a workshop day on 25 November. According to the organiser, the gathering runs under the theme "Hononga / Connections" and is built around face-to-face connection, or kanohi ki te kanohi, after years in which much of the sector's work moved online.
The confirmed venue is the Harbourside Function Venue at 4 Taranaki Street, Te Aro, on the Wellington waterfront.
NDF describes itself as a not-for-profit "network of people working together to enhance digital interaction with culture and heritage in Aotearoa New Zealand." The organisation, which operates as National Digital Forum Inc, adopted a new constitution in February 2025 to align with the Incorporated Societies Act 2022. NDF has run its annual conference since 2002, making it one of New Zealand's longest-standing events for the digital-heritage community, and it supplements the conference with local events and professional development. For 2026 its lead ("Kauri") partners are Auckland Libraries and Te Papa, with additional sponsorship listed from Curio, Micrographics, Wikimedia NZ, Museums Central Hawke's Bay and the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
The forum is aimed at people in digital roles across the GLAMIR sector, galleries, libraries, archives, museums and related cultural organisations, who work with collections and communities. The organiser sets the 2026 programme across three strands: networking and connection (including guided networking framed for both introverts and extroverts), creative and practical inspiration drawn from case studies and experiments, and "Big Ideas & Challenges" covering artificial intelligence, data sovereignty and digital culture.
Announced keynotes are Ash Mann, an independent digital consultant and host of the Digital Works podcast speaking on invisible labour in digital work, and Maori multi-disciplinary artist and New Zealand Arts Laureate Lisa Reihana, who represented Aotearoa at the 2017 Venice Biennale, as the Aotearoa keynote supported by Story Inc. Writer and advocate Emily Writes is billed to give the opening address.
Harbourside Function Venue sits on Taranaki Street Wharf in Te Aro, directly on Wellington's waterfront and a short walk from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, one of the event's partners. The location places delegates in central Wellington within easy walking distance of the Courtenay Place and Cuba Street hospitality precincts and a wide range of city-centre and waterfront accommodation. Wellington International Airport lies roughly 7 to 8 kilometres to the south-east, around a 15 to 20 minute drive, with taxis, rideshare and the Airport Express bus serving the city centre; the venue is also reachable on foot or by short taxi from the Wellington railway station and the city's bus network. These details are provided as factual context for delegates rather than as an endorsement of any transport operator.
NDF is a stable, sector-defining fixture on the New Zealand cultural-technology calendar, drawing digital practitioners from museums, libraries, galleries and archives nationwide to the capital each November. Its continuity since 2002, its capital-city base and its partnerships with major national institutions such as Te Papa and Auckland Libraries give it a settled place in Wellington's conference programme and in the country's wider GLAM and digital-heritage community.
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