CZC2018 | azurigen

CZC 2018

Coastal Zone Canada 2018 Meeting

The Coastal Zone Canada Association (CZCA) is a nationally incorporated non-profit society of coastal zone management professionals committed to promoting Integrated Coastal Zone Management practices in Canada and abroad. The CZCA was incorporated in 1993 with the objective of sponsoring Coastal Management conferences and otherwise promoting improvements in Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) practices. Conferences are held every two years, on the even year.

The 2018 conference, held in St. John’s NL over 5 days, was a small conference comprising talks from invited speakers from all areas of integrated coastal zone management, as well as a series of themed symposia, oral presentations and poster presentations.

Normally the conference is exclusively organized by volunteer. This was the first year that the CZCA hired a meeting management company to help in the planning, execution and evaluation of the conference.

The conference was successful at bringing together delegates that represented a wide range of IZCM professionals. It attracted politically influential speakers such as the Associate Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Kevin Stringer, and Nobel Nominee Sheila Watt-Cloutier. The general consensus of the delegates was that it was a fun and well-organized conference that was successful in its mission and goals. In addition, the conference turned a small profit that will help in hosting their 2020 conference in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

Azurigen brought in $70,000.00 CAD in grant funding, advertising and sponsorship for the conference, and assisted in bringing in another $50,000.00 CAD through the conference organizing committee.

TESTIMONIALS

"I was a member of the core organizing committee for Coastal Zone Canada 2018, the biennial conference of the Coastal Zone Canada Association, which we hosted in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Having organized similar conferences in the past, with projected registrations of 250-400 participants, I was very familiar with the size and complexity of the task and with the need, if the budget allowed, to hire someone to drive that process.

We engaged Azurigen Conference and Management Solutions Ltd. to manage our conference, and never regretted that decision. Travis Nielsen, CEO and Founder of Azurigen, along with his able executive assistant Tanya, were the steady guiding influence that we needed. They ensured that we met deadlines, worked to engage and lead our volunteers, and made important contributions to our fund-raising efforts while enabling the organizing committee to focus on the program. During the conference itself they were omnipresent – addressing and fixing the glitches that always arise at such times and doing so with a calm and professional approach.

Without Travis’ management the conference could not have happened. He knew when and how to push us and enabled us to meet our goals for the conference. It was a pleasure to work with both Travis and Tanya, and I am sure Azurigen will bring an equal level of commitment and value to any task they undertake."

Grant Gardner, CZC2018 Organizing Committee and Board Member, CZCA