No longer the “Cinderella” of creative conferences or the “Plus One” at marcomms summits.
We see you and the work you do.
Join the Worthies Conference, where passion meets purpose. Connect with a vibrant community, share best practices, and challenge the way you think. Our eclectic lineup of global and local thought leaders will tackle the pressing challenge of driving and embedding behaviour change, sparking your creativity and empowering you with the skills to make lasting impact.
This one-day event, taking place in the Grand Hall at Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand, on 5 March 2026, promises a full day of inspiration, culminating in the presentation of our New Zealand Awards.
Your conference registration gives you full access to every session, plus an invitation to our pre-award drinks and the exciting awards ceremony.
The day kicks off at 9:30 am and wraps up with the awards celebration at 7:00 pm, a full day of inspiration, connection, and recognition.
An opportunity to step away from day-to-day activities, reflect on how audiences are evolving, and explore how effective engagement demands continuous improvement and innovation.
The Worthies Conference provides a safe and welcoming space for public sector practitioners and commissioners to connect with external agencies, share knowledge, gain deeper insights, and build meaningful relationships. Attending the conference is an investment in both your personal development and your organisation’s capability.
No longer the ‘Cinderella’ of creative conferences, the ‘Plus One’ at marcomms summits.
We see you and your work.
The Worthies Conference theme is 'Connect'
A safe and welcoming space for public sector practitioners and commissioners to engage with external agencies, share knowledge, gain deeper insights, and build meaningful relationships. Attending the conference is an investment in both your personal development and your organisation’s capability. An opportunity to take time out from the day-to-day activities, step back and consider how audiences are evolving and how effective engagement requires continuous improvement and innovation.
This one-day event, held in the Grand Hall, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand on 5 March 2026, offers a full day of inspiration concluding with our New Zealand Awards. Each Conference registration entitles you to attend every conference session as well as pre award drinks and the awards ceremony.
Conference starts at 9:30 am and the awards ceremony ends at 7:00pm.
Who should attend?
Public Sector
-
Communications & Marketing Managers and Advisors
-
Partners and Directors
-
Communications & Engagement Managers and Advisors
-
Directors
-
Engagement Managers and Advisors
-
Leads
-
Brand Managers
-
Managers
-
Social Media Advisors
-
Experience and Performance Managers
-
Stakeholder and Media Managers and Advisors or Community Relations
-
Managers
-
Public Affairs / Public Relations Managers and Advisors and Account Managers
-
Internal Communications Managers and Advisors
Agency
-
Founders
-
Creative
-
Creative Design
-
Customer
-
Media
-
Business
No longer the ‘Cinderella’ of creative conferences, the ‘Plus One’ at marcomms summits.
We see you and your work.
The Worthies Conference theme is 'Connect'
A safe and welcoming space for public sector practitioners and commissioners to engage with external agencies, share knowledge, gain deeper insights, and build meaningful relationships. Attending the conference is an investment in both your personal development and your organisation’s capability. An opportunity to take time out from the day-to-day activities, step back and consider how audiences are evolving and how effective engagement requires continuous improvement and innovation.
This one-day event, held in the Grand Hall, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand on 5 March 2026, offers a full day of inspiration concluding with our New Zealand Awards. Each Conference registration entitles you to attend every conference session as well as pre award drinks and the awards ceremony.
Conference starts at 9:00am and the awards ceremony ends at 7:00pm.
Public Sector
-
Communications & Marketing Managers and Advisors
-
Partners and Directors
-
Communications & Engagement Managers and Advisors
-
Directors
-
Engagement Managers and Advisors
-
Leads
-
Brand Managers
-
Managers
-
Social Media Advisors
-
Experience and Performance Managers
-
Stakeholder and Media Managers and Advisors or Community Relations
-
Managers
-
Public Affairs / Public Relations Managers and Advisors and Account Managers
-
Internal Communications Managers and Advisors
Agency
-
Founders
-
Creative
-
Creative Design
-
Customer
-
Media
-
Business
No longer the ‘Cinderella’ of creative conferences, the ‘Plus One’ at marcomms summits.
We see you and your work.
The Worthies Conference theme is 'Connect'
A safe and welcoming space for public sector practitioners and commissioners to engage with external agencies, share knowledge, gain deeper insights, and build meaningful relationships. Attending the conference is an investment in both your personal development and your organisation’s capability. An opportunity to take time out from the day-to-day activities, step back and consider how audiences are evolving and how effective engagement requires continuous improvement and innovation.
This one-day event, held in the Grand Hall, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand on 5 March 2026, offers a full day of inspiration concluding with our New Zealand Awards. Each Conference registration entitles you to attend every conference session as well as pre award drinks and the awards ceremony.
Conference starts at 9:30 am and the awards ceremony ends at 7:00pm.
Public Sector
-
Communications & Marketing Managers and Advisors
-
Partners and Directors
-
Communications & Engagement Managers and Advisors
-
Directors
-
Engagement Managers and Advisors
-
Leads
-
Brand Managers
-
Managers
-
Social Media Advisors
-
Experience and Performance Managers
-
Stakeholder and Media Managers and Advisors or Community Relations
-
Managers
-
Public Affairs / Public Relations Managers and Advisors and Account Managers
-
Internal Communications Managers and Advisors
Agency
-
Founders
-
Creative
-
Creative Design
-
Customer
-
Media
-
Business
An opportunity to take time out from the day-to-day activities, step back and consider how audiences are evolving and how effective engagement requires continuous improvement and innovation.
The Worthies conference is a safe and welcoming space for public sector practitioners and commissioners to connect with external agencies, share knowledge, develop greater insight, and build relationships.
The conference will feature an eclectic line up of international and local speakers, highlighting experience and perspective on the global challenge of catalysing and embedding behaviour change in communities of interest.
The Worthies conference is an investment in both your personal development and your organisations capability, do not miss out, pre-register now to guarantee your place.
Spaces are limited at our inaugural conference.
The Worthies are offering you the chance to pre-register to secure your seat(s).
No payment is required at this stage but upon release of seats for the conference, anyone pre-registering will be offered a priority booking period to register for the conference.
New Zealand 2026 Programme
Our Speakers
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David Shing aka Shingy
The Attention Crisis: Why Behaviour Change Needs Brave Creative
Shingy’siving through an attention crisis. Trust in mainstream media is falling, audiences are fragmented, and citizens swipe past public messages before they’ve even landed. For PSEs, this isn’t a marketing problem, it’s a behaviour-change emergency.
In this talk, Shingy maps the next three years of audience shift: the rise of micro-communities, emotional search, and AI-shaped spaces where relevance is earned, not assumed. He makes the case that the greatest risk today is playing it safe, because safe work doesn’t cut through, doesn’t shift culture, and doesn’t change behaviour.
With ageing populations, climate costs, and stretched government budgets, creativity is no longer decoration. It’s infrastructure. And PSE communicators must claim their seat at the leadership table because nothing drives societal change faster than brave ideas at human scale.
Romaine Reid
The Creative Frequency Behind Work That Truly Resonates
Every creative idea carries a frequency — a vibration that either resonates or repels. In a world overflowing with content, the work that truly cuts through isn’t always the loudest; it’s the most aligned.
Filmmaker and director Romaine Reid invites you to explore how energy, emotion, and intuition shape the way audiences connect with creative work. Whether you’re crafting stories for a global brand or driving change within the public sector, this session speaks to you — the individual behind the message that reaches the masses.
Together, we’ll explore how to tune into the frequency of genuine creativity — where ideas arise from presence, empathy, and intention rather than fear or conformity. Romaine will share how creatives can move beyond surface-level communication to craft stories that resonate deeply, and how this heart-led approach can build trust, inspire belief, and spark transformation on a collective scale.
Jessie Hughes
Amplifying Creativity with Leonardo.Ai
Fresh off her Hollywood tour, Leonardo.Ai’s Lead Creative Technologist, Jessie Hughes, breaks down how Generative AI is transforming creative execution. With public sector communications teams operating on shoestring budgets but sky-high expectations and demands, Artist-in-Residence Jessie will unpack how generative AI serves as the bridge to world-class creative output—without the hefty price tag.In her keynote, she’ll deliver a live demonstration of AI video-generation tools, share up-to-the-minute best practices, and walk through practical creative workflows designed to supercharge any team’s capabilities.
Nick McFarlane
Decoding the Invisible Rules of Kiwi Culture
Every society runs on invisible rules. In Aotearoa, these unspoken cultural cues
quietly decide what feels credible, trustworthy, and worth paying attention to — usually before anyone’s finished the first sentence. When public communication
misreads these signals, even well-intentioned messages can end up feeling
awkward, overcooked, or slightly out of place.
In this talk, Nick McFarlane unpacks how culture and status shape which ideas gain
traction in Kiwi society. Drawing on semiotics and cultural analysis, he shows how status isn’t about hierarchy or authority, but about a shared sense of what feels natural, sensible, and “not trying too hard” in a local context.
As public conversations become noisier and more contested, understanding these
invisible rules becomes less of a nice-to-have and more of a survival skill. Cultural
and status awareness helps communicators stop fighting the room, design ideas that feel at home, and contribute to conversations people actually want to be part of.
Seamus Boyer
Lessons from 650+ govt socials.
Every year, Seamus dives into the depths of public sector content, voluntarily trawling through hundreds of government social media pages so you don't have to. In this session, he’ll unpack the standout trends shaping government comms, the tactics worth stealing, and his top picks of accounts to watch.
David Shing aka Shingy
The Attention Crisis: Why Behaviour Change Needs Brave Creative
Shingy’siving through an attention crisis. Trust in mainstream media is falling, audiences are fragmented, and citizens swipe past public messages before they’ve even landed. For PSEs, this isn’t a marketing problem, it’s a behaviour-change emergency.
In this talk, Shingy maps the next three years of audience shift: the rise of micro-communities, emotional search, and AI-shaped spaces where relevance is earned, not assumed. He makes the case that the greatest risk today is playing it safe, because safe work doesn’t cut through, doesn’t shift culture, and doesn’t change behaviour.
With ageing populations, climate costs, and stretched government budgets, creativity is no longer decoration. It’s infrastructure. And PSE communicators must claim their seat at the leadership table because nothing drives societal change faster than brave ideas at human scale.
Romaine Reid
The Creative Frequency Behind Work That Truly Resonates
Every creative idea carries a frequency — a vibration that either resonates or repels. In a world overflowing with content, the work that truly cuts through isn’t always the loudest; it’s the most aligned.
Filmmaker and director Romaine Reid invites you to explore how energy, emotion, and intuition shape the way audiences connect with creative work. Whether you’re crafting stories for a global brand or driving change within the public sector, this session speaks to you — the individual behind the message that reaches the masses.
Together, we’ll explore how to tune into the frequency of genuine creativity — where ideas arise from presence, empathy, and intention rather than fear or conformity. Romaine will share how creatives can move beyond surface-level communication to craft stories that resonate deeply, and how this heart-led approach can build trust, inspire belief, and spark transformation on a collective scale.
Jessie Hughes
Amplifying Creativity with Leonardo.Ai
Fresh off her Hollywood tour, Leonardo.Ai’s Lead Creative Technologist, Jessie Hughes, breaks down how Generative AI is transforming creative execution. With public sector communications teams operating on shoestring budgets but sky-high expectations and demands, Artist-in-Residence Jessie will unpack how generative AI serves as the bridge to world-class creative output—without the hefty price tag.
In her keynote, she’ll deliver a live demonstration of AI video-generation tools, share up-to-the-minute best practices, and walk through practical creative workflows designed to supercharge any team’s capabilities.
Nick McFarlane
Decoding the Invisible Rules of Kiwi Culture
Every society runs on invisible rules. In Aotearoa, these unspoken cultural cues
quietly decide what feels credible, trustworthy, and worth paying attention to — usually before anyone’s finished the first sentence. When public communication misreads these signals, even well-intentioned messages can end up feeling awkward, overcooked, or slightly out of place.
In this talk, Nick McFarlane unpacks how culture and status shape which ideas gain traction in Kiwi society. Drawing on semiotics and cultural analysis, he shows how status isn’t about hierarchy or authority, but about a shared sense of what feels natural, sensible, and “not trying too hard” in a local context.
As public conversations become noisier and more contested, understanding these invisible rules becomes less of a nice-to-have and more of a survival skill. Cultural and status awareness helps communicators stop fighting the room, design ideas that feel at home, and contribute to conversations people actually want to be part of.
Seamus Boyer
Lessons from 650+ govt socials.
Every year, Seamus dives into the depths of public sector content, voluntarily trawling through hundreds of government social media pages so you don't have to. In this session, he’ll unpack the standout trends shaping government comms, the tactics worth stealing, and his top picks of accounts to watch.
Tickets
Tickets to the inaugural Worthies Conference & Awards will be limited and released in stages, with priority given to delegates who have pre registered.
Remaining tickets will be available at Early Bird rates in advance of general release.
Tickets can be purchased online using a credit card or alternatively The Worthies Limited can invoice directly, please refer to your organisations procurement policy. You will need to set up The Worthies Limited as a creditor before providing us with a Purchase Order (PO) number. The Worthies Limited will not accept orders for conference tickets without a PO number. Please email your new creditor set up form to accounts@theworthiesawards.com or provide a URL to an online portal.
Individual Ticket
Early Bird
$NZ 645 + GST each
General Release*
$NZ 745 + GST each
10 - 20 Delegates
Early Bird
$NZ 595 + GST each
General Release*
$NZ 695 + GST each
20+ Delegates
Early Bird
$NZ 545 + GST each
General Release*
$NZ 645 + GST each
The Worthies cannot guarantee tickets will be available for General Release, should early bird purchases exceed capacity.
Individual Ticket
General Release*
$NZ 745 + GST each
10 - 20 Delegates
General Release*
$NZ 695 + GST each
Tickets
Tickets
Tickets to the inaugural Worthies Conference & Awards will be limited and released in stages, with priority given to delegates who have pre registered.
Remaining tickets will be available at Early Bird rates in advance of general release.
Tickets can be purchased online using a credit card or alternatively The Worthies Limited can invoice directly, please refer to your organisations procurement policy. You will need to set up The Worthies Limited as a creditor before providing us with a Purchase Order (PO) number. The Worthies Limited will not accept orders for conference tickets without a PO number. Please email your new creditor set up form to accounts@theworthiesawards.com or provide a URL to an online portal.
Buy Conference Tickets
A Venue to Remember
The Grand Hall, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
Meticulously restored, boasting magnificent architecture, combining grandeur with modern amenities.
