The Kura Conference 2026 is a two-day education-sector summit for NZ school leaders, run by Brightstar (Conferenz Ltd) on 10–11 November 2026 at the Due Drop Events Centre, Wiri, Auckland, with a three-stream programme and Ministry of Education involvement.
The Kura Conference 2026 is a two-day, multi-streamed summit for New Zealand's school leaders and educators, held on 10–11 November 2026 at the Due Drop Events Centre in Wiri, South Auckland. Its stated premise is that national curriculum changes have arrived, and it sets out to give school leaders strategic tools, technology literacy and leadership resilience to steer their schools through curriculum reform, staff wellbeing pressures and the growing use of AI in classrooms (organiser, brightstar.co.nz).
The conference is produced by Brightstar, the conference and training arm of Conferenz Ltd (trading as Brightstar), based at Smales Farm in Takapuna, Auckland. Brightstar positions itself as a long-running NZ events company, and the Kura Conference is also carried on the Conferenz and Inside Government NZ listings, which sit within the same group (organiser and aggregator).
The audience is primary and secondary school leaders, heads of department, lead teachers and educational innovators. The programme is chaired by Vaughan Couillault and shaped by an advisory panel drawn from across the sector, including Julie Schumacher (The Education Group), Sarah Washbrooke (TENZ), Billie-Jean Potaka Ayton (Kaiti School) and Catherine Law (Avonside Girls' High School). Content is organised into three concurrent streams: The Engine (curriculum, pedagogy and change), The Frontier (innovation and AI in learning, including teacher-workload reduction) and The Heart (leading for impact, covering people challenges, HR and sustainable leadership). Ministry of Education presenters such as Hayley Welch (on Te Mataiaho) and Kiritina Johnstone (on Te Marautanga o Aotearoa) feature alongside keynote speakers including David Galbraith, Elle Archer and Jase Williams (organiser, brightstar.co.nz).
The Due Drop Events Centre sits at 770 Great South Road in Wiri, Manukau, in South Auckland. Its location places delegates close to Auckland Airport and the southern motorway corridor, with Manukau and Wiri served by Great South Road and nearby rail, making it a practical gathering point for educators travelling in from across the wider Auckland region and beyond. Accommodation and transport options cluster around the Manukau city centre and the airport precinct a short drive away.
The Kura Conference is a sector-specific professional-development summit timed to New Zealand's live curriculum reform, with direct Ministry of Education involvement and a substantial multi-stream programme. For the NZ MICE market it represents a sizeable education-sector conference anchored at a major purpose-built South Auckland venue, drawing school leaders nationally.
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