Indigenous international conference chooses Hawaiʻi Island as its next venue in 2028

The largest and most influential Indigenous Peoples’ conference will be coming to the Big Island.

As the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education concluded this week in Aotearoa — the Māori name for New Zealand — organizers announced that the triennial event would be held in Waikōloa in 2028.

“To host such a distinguished event is a great honor for our people,” said Chadd Paishon, a spokesperson for the 2028 conference. “It allows us to showcase our moana and share our aloha.

“We look forward to creating a place where our collective knowledge can flourish, and where we can build on the learnings we’ve gained here in Aotearoa.”

About 3,800 of the world’s foremost indigenous educators, knowledge holders and leaders took part in the conference and called for a new era of transformative action, vowing to continue driving indigenous-led solutions to the world’s problems and rising above political edicts and governments of the day.

“As we bring WIPCE 2025 to a close, we usher in a new era of indigenous endeavor and unity that will trans-indigenize our world,” said Professor Meihana Durie, co-chair of WIPCE 2025. “We will build an indigenous economy, one that funds indigenous education, research, hospitals, cinema and media channels. One that protects indigenous lands, waters and skies, and most importantly, indigenous people.”

Delegates were urged to carve their own path and listen to their ancestors in keynote speeches, panels and sessions that covered politics, self-determination and decolonization to shifts in educational systems, environmental stewardship, youth leadership and well-being.

This year’s event brought thousands of delegates from more than 25 countries to the most ethnically diverse city in Aotearoa, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. The inner city was filled with color, culture and Indigenous vibrance throughout the week.

Wrapped in the protective cloak of iwi manaaki (Māori host tribe), Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, delegates were welcomed with a stirring pōwhiri (traditional Māori welcome ceremony), followed by a 4,000-strong ‘Parade of Nations,’ showcasing the diverse attendees in their traditional kākahu (attire) proceeding through the city center.

There was strong international interest in hosting the 14th conference in 2028 with nine bids submitted from Australia, Canada, Hawaiʻi, South Africa, and Taiwan.

On the final day of the event, organizers of the conference announced that Waikōloa was selected, marking the third time the event will be held in Hawaiʻi.

Dr. Noe Noe Wong-Wilson, WIPCE International Council Chair and Native Hawaiian, said that returning to Hawaiʻi in 2028 would bring an opportunity to connect back into the Moananuiākea (Pacific Ocean), and to continue to navigate new currents in indigenous education together.

“It is exciting to see so much interest in hosting WIPCE,” Wong-Wilson said. “This demonstrates how important the voices of indigenous people are in our communities, and how powerful our collective vision has become on the global stage.”

Since it was established in 1987, WIPCE has grown into the world’s largest, most diverse and most influential Indigenous education conference. To learn more about the triennial event, vist the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education website.