International Federation of Landscape Architects Information

IFLA is the organization which represents the landscape architectural profession globally, providing leadership and networks supporting the development of the profession and its effective participation in the realization of attractive, equitable and sustainable environments. An IFLA World Congress is an ideal opportunity to share and learn from diverse cultures, with attendees from 63 IFLA member countries. IFLA 2013 - Shared Wisdom in An Age of Change, will be a celebration twice over. The 2013 Congress is the 50th IFLA congress and the 40th anniversary of the establishment of NZILA in New Zealand. The host city of Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand and contains the main International airport, thereby making it a suitable and easily accessed destination for IFLA delegates from around the world. The city also lies in close proximity to many dramatic natural and landscape features, thereby making it a great place for delegates to gain an overall impression of New Zealand its diverse landscapes natural and built environments. Auckland is also the location of a number of national and International award winning urban landscape design projects. he 2013 World Congress will be show-casing a number of these as well as other NZ landscapes and projects in a series of field trips and pre and post congress tours. Within an easy half hour of the Auckland city centre, there are a variety of landscapes, ranging from volcanic cones, expansive west and east coast beaches, forested ranges, rivers and rural landscapes. The three harbours that define the Auckland region, the Waitemata, Manukau and Kaipara also lie within easy reach of the city as do their inhabited and scenic sanctuary island destinations. New Zealand is an Island nation with a strong bi-cultural heritage and increasingly multi-cultural population. Congress participants will have to opportunity to engange with the cultural diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand as well as with its contrasting urban natural landscapes. The theme for this 50th IFLA World Congress will focus on knowledge sharing around the increasingly challenging issues facing our local and global environments in an age of considerable and frequently dramatic change. It will provoke thought as to how we as the landscape profession can and should participate in the shaping and management of the future. . We look forward to sharing with you in the exciting and critical discussion and debate that will be raised at this World Congress.