The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), the global alliance of regional associations, national federations and institutions, held its first Mid-Year Meeting on 24 and 25 July 2024. This virtual event marked a new chapter in WAZA’s mission to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing and strengthen the worldwide zoo and aquarium community. Leaders, experts, and stakeholders from around the globe met for meaningful discourse, strategic planning, and information exchange.
“The decision to host this Mid-Year Meeting reflected WAZA’s recognition of the importance of continuous engagement with our diverse membership,” says the association. “Traditionally, WAZA’s Annual Conference has been the cornerstone for such interactions, providing a vital forum for members to convene, share insights, and shape the future of zoological and aquarium institutions globally.
“However, the introduction of the Mid-Year Meeting underscores WAZA’s proactive approach in adapting to the evolving needs of its members, especially in a world where virtual connectivity is increasingly central to global operations.”
This meeting’s virtual format is intended to maximise accessibility and participation, enabling participants from various locations and time zones to participate. The meeting took place over two days, with two hours for each session. The goal of this structure is to support the wide geographic distribution of WAZA members, promoting inclusion and increased engagement. WAZA aims to address the difficulties caused by time zones around the world by providing workshops in various time zones, creating an atmosphere that is more welcoming to all attendees.
With nearly 400 registrations, the online event included updates about WAZA, presentations, panels as well as a participative workshop.
Day one
There were 130 people present on the first day, and Karen Fifield, president of WAZA, gave a welcome speech outlining the organization’s goals and these connect to the online Mid-Year Meeting. Additionally, she pointed out that 191 of the almost 400 registrations came from people who had never been to a WAZA event before.
Case studies from Francis William Ruhinirwa of the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC) and Dave Wehdeking of Fundación Zoológica De Cali about using WAZA’s resources to promote and facilitate revolutionary changes inside their organisations came next.
Following this, Paula Cerdán, WAZA’s head of conservation and animal welfare, and David Field, WAZA’s vice president, presented the status of the proposed Population Management Goal and the WAZA 2023 Animal Welfare Goal. Following these initial talks, a panel discussion featuring Raymond van der Meer, EAZA, Wendy Chua, SEAZA, and Claudia Igayara, AZAB, was held to further highlight the regional implications of these goals.
A workshop focused on how participants can benefit from being a part of the WAZA global community and share experiences with one another closed out Day 1. Questions were used to guide the conversation and get ideas for ways to break down any obstacles that members might be having when interacting with the WAZA community.
Day two
A recap of the first day’s workshop kicked off Day 2 of the Mid-Year Meeting, which was followed by a panel discussion on how aquariums and zoos fit into global conservation efforts.
Dr Jon Paul Rodríguez, chair of the IUCN SSC, Ivonne Higuero, secretary general of CITES, Astrid Schomaker, executive secretary of CBD, and Karen Gaynor, scientific support officer of CITES, were among the panellists. During the enlightening conversation, recommendations were made for creating policy papers prior to this year’s CBD COP in October, including aquariums in CITES and increasing WAZA’s visibility at major global forums.
The WAZA Committee on Environmental Sustainability and Conservation is currently developing the WAZA Conservation Goal, which was shared by Helen Lockhart from Two Oceans Aquarium and James Biggs from the Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia. Day 2’s last session featured presentations from a wide range of participants, including Dirk Glaesser from UN Tourism, Jason Bell from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), and Shivin Kohli from the World Economic Forum.
The Mid-Year Meeting covered a number of important subjects that are essential to WAZA and its members’ goals and strategic priorities, such as animal welfare laws, conservation campaigns, and the contribution of aquariums and zoos to the worldwide struggle to conserve biodiversity. Members also had a chance to talk about the opportunities and problems facing the community, especially in light of social and environmental changes that have an impact on conservation efforts.
“WAZA’s inaugural Mid-Year Meeting represents a significant step forward in our efforts to enhance engagement and collaboration within the global zoo and aquarium community, and we thank our members for joining us and making the Meeting a success,” says WAZA.
WAZA recently revealed that Fundación Zoológica de Cali, or Cali Zoo, in Colombia, will be the host of the 80th WAZA Annual Conference, which will take place from 26 to 30 October 2025. This year’s WAZA conference will take place from 3 to 7 November at Taronga Zoo in Sydney.
