The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), the global alliance of regional associations, national federations, and institutions, has shared details of the programme for its upcoming Annual Conference, which is set to unite voices, expertise, and purpose.
The 2025 event will mark the Association's 90th anniversary. In honour of this milestone, it will explore the theme 90 Years and Beyond: Uniting for a Thriving Planet. Its agenda promises to celebrate nine decades of progress and impact, explore ways to build stronger and more resilient zoos and aquariums, prepare for challenges and opportunities, and collaborate to shape a future-ready community.
The global gathering of the zoo and aquarium community is taking place at Cali Zoological Foundation, Colombia, and online from 26 to 30 October. It offers an exceptional opportunity to connect, collaborate, and shape the future of conservation and animal welfare on a global level.
To register to attend, please click here.
Curated programme
The conference programme features a curated lineup of inspiring keynotes, thought-provoking panels, and compelling member case studies that share real-world successes, lessons learned, and impact.
This is complemented by a series of Interactive Sessions designed to spark fresh ideas and foster collaboration, along with meaningful networking events that will connect with leaders, peers, and partners from across the worldwide zoo and aquarium community.
Special events include celebrations for the Association's 90th anniversary and the WAZA Awards Gala, an evening event that recognises excellence in the sector. The new Animal Welfare Award will be presented for the first time this year, reaffirming WAZA’s dedication to advancing conservation and animal welfare across the world.
On Thursday, 30 October, the WAZA Annual General Assembly (AGA) will take place at the InterContinental Cali and online.
Day one keynote: Wade Davis
Explorer and author Wade Davis will present the keynote address on Monday, 27 October.
Davis will take attendees on a captivating journey to celebrate the wisdom of the world’s indigenous cultures, from Polynesia to the Amazon, the Andes, the far reaches of Australia and beyond. They will meet the Peoples of the Anaconda, a Bodhisattva who emerges from forty-five years of Buddhist retreat and solitude, and the last rainforest nomads as they struggle to survive, and many others.
Over the next century, it will be vital to understand the lessons of this journey. Of the world’s 7000 languages, fully half may be lost within our lifetimes, placing a vast archive of knowledge and expertise at risk. This session explores how rediscovering a new appreciation for the diversity of the human spirit, as expressed through culture, is one of the central challenges of our time.
"A language is not just grammar or vocabulary; it is a flash of the human spirit, the vehicle through which the soul of a culture comes into the material world," says Davis. "Every language is an old growth forest of the mind, a watershed of thought, an ecosystem of social and spiritual possibilities."
Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society from 2000 to 2013, Davis is currently professor emeritus of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia.
He is the author of 23 books, published in 24 languages, including One River, The Wayfinders and Into the Silence, and holds degrees in anthropology and biology and a PhD in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University. In 2016, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2018, he became an Honorary Citizen of Colombia. His recent books include Magdalena: River of Dreams (2020) and Beneath the Surface of Things (2024).
Day two keynote: Rosamira Guillen & Andrés Link
The keynote speakers for day two, Tuesday 28 October, are Rosamira Guillen & Andrés Link, who will highlight the role of two Critically Endangered primates on the dynamics and conservation of tropical dry forests and rainforests in Colombia.
Drawing from long-term experiences with Proyecto Titi and Proyecto Primates, this session will share their insights and emphasise the importance of integrating basic science with comprehensive conservation strategies collaboratively developed with local communities and key stakeholders.
Guillen and Link will explain how both projects have addressed threats to primates and their habitats and jointly develop conservation of their remaining habitats, restore connectivity in fragmented landscapes, and focus on education and improving local livelihoods. This aims to create ideal socio-ecological conditions for conserving their natural ecosystems and the biodiversity within them.
Guillen is a Colombian landscape architect and environmental designer turned conservationist. After designing the Barranquilla Zoo redevelopment, she became its director in 2001.
She co-founded Fundación Proyecto Tití in 2004 to protect tamarins and restore their habitat, increasing awareness and community involvement. Guillen has received multiple awards, including the 2015 Whitley Award, the 2017 National Geographic Buffett Award, the 2019 Premio Latinoamérica Verde, and a Fulbright Scholarship.
A Colombian primatologist and conservationist, Link has studied spider monkeys for 25 years and dedicated his life to conserving the Critically Endangered brown spider monkeys (Ateles hybridus), and co-founded Fundación Proyecto Primates, working to protect primates, their habitats, and local communities.
He is an associate professor at Universidad de Los Andes, vice-chair for the Andean countries on the IUCN Primate Specialist Group and has received the Sabin Award (2019), Premio Escudo y Bandera de Santander (2019), and Whitley Award (2025) for his conservation efforts.
Day three keynote: Susana Cárdenas-Alayza
On day three, Wednesday 29 October, the keynote presentation will be given by leading Peruvian marine ecologist Susana Cárdenas-Alayza, director of the Punta San Juan Program and associate professor at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH).
This presentation will showcase 25 years of successful collaboration with zoological institutions that have utilised zoo expertise and funding to advance vital research on wildlife health, trophic ecology, contaminants, and biomarkers. These partnerships have also enabled the development of cost-effective methodologies for field research and invasive species management.
Cárdenas-Alayza will discuss the importance of sustained partnerships in tackling complex conservation challenges, and illustrate how the integration of conservation values, field research, capacity building, environmental education, and community engagement has transformed the Punta San Juan Programme into a sustainable, long-term project backed by hundreds of collaborators.
"Real-world impact starts with teamwork— when researchers and zoos form lasting alliances, conservation transcends boundaries, creating hope for threatened ecosystems," says Cárdenas-Alayza.
Recently, WAZA held its Mid-Year Meeting, an annual online event that unites professionals from the worldwide zoo and aquarium community—regardless of location—to network, share ideas, and influence the future of conservation and animal welfare. The keynote speaker was Andy Ridley, CEO of Citizens of the Reef and founding CEO of Earth Hour.
