Generate Conference 2026, the annual hui for emerging recreation, parks and sport professionals run by Recreation Aotearoa's Generate Network, takes place 17-18 September 2026 at Wellington's Ākau Tangi Sports Centre under the theme 'Whiria te Tangata'.
Generate Conference 2026 is the annual professional-development hui for emerging leaders across New Zealand's recreation, parks and sport sector. Held over two days on 17-18 September 2026 at the Ākau Tangi Sports Centre in Wellington, its 2026 theme is *Whiria te Tangata - Weave Together the People*, which the organiser says "celebrates the connections that bring the recreation, parks, and sport sector to life."
The conference is delivered by the Generate Network, the emerging-professionals arm of Recreation Aotearoa, which is listed as the event organiser on the official Glue Up event page. Event and venue enquiries are handled through the Generate Network team and, for venue logistics, Jasmin Carr of Sport Taranaki.
The hui is aimed at emerging recreation professionals and tauira (students), framing the sector's next generation as "strengthened when we are connected and supported by both our peers and the generations who have come before us." According to the published agenda, Day One opens with registration and a mihi whakatau at Ākau Tangi before delegates bus to Honiana Te Puni Reserve and Ngā Ūranga ki Pito-One for kōrero and site exploration. Day Two runs to mid-afternoon with sessions including Pathways in Horticulture and Active by Design, followed by field trips. Confirmed speakers include Ezekiel Raui of Te Rourou, One Aotearoa Foundation, Victoria University of Wellington lecturer Erin Roxburgh, and Recreation Aotearoa staff Sam Newton and Katie Barry.
Ākau Tangi Sports Centre sits at 72 Kemp Street in the Wellington suburb of Kilbirnie, close to Wellington International Airport. Per Wellington City Council, the council-run facility offers ten full-sized indoor courts plus upstairs conference and meeting rooms, making it a functional base for a mid-sized sector hui with an off-site field-trip component. Its Kilbirnie location places delegates a short drive from the airport and roughly 8 km from Wellington's CBD hotels, where most out-of-town attendees would find accommodation; the programme's own use of buses to reserve sites reflects the movement of delegates between the venue and outdoor learning locations.
As a recurring, nationally focused association conference that draws recreation, parks and sport professionals from across the country to the capital, Generate contributes to Wellington's business-events calendar and demonstrates use of a council sports facility in a dual sport/conference role.
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