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Zoo hosts UK wide conference

Belfast Zoo is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), and last week hosted the BIAZA annual meeting and conference for the first time. Key people for zoos such as the head of BIAZA, the head of the European Association (EAZA) and the head of the World Association (WAZA) attended. The Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Pat Convery opened the conference, and attended the gala dinner.

The conference was held from Thursday 10th June to Saturday 12th June, and was organised by Belfast Zoo. Holding the conference in Belfast not only provided the opportunity for Belfast Zoo to showcase their top quality animal care, and the beautiful surroundings, but it provided an opportunity to showcase Belfast as a city and conference destination too.

Zoo manager, and BIAZA committee member, Mark Challis was thrilled when he heard last year that the conference would be held in Belfast. “This conference is a main event for UK and Ireland zoos, and it has been fantastic to hold it in Belfast and show off our zoo and what we have to offer in our city. We spead the conference timetable around various destinations in Belfast including the Grand Opera House, Belfast Castle, and of course the zoo. We are grateful to Belfast City Council for the use of the City Hall for our gala dinner. The organisation was hard work but the feedback from conference attendees on the zoo and Belfast has been super, it was a great success. We are hoping to work with the Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau to encourage larger conferences in the future.”

The Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Pat Convery spoke at the Opera House on the opening morning. He also attended the Gala dinner in the City Hall. Referring to the role Belfast Zoo plays in attracting tourism to the city, he said: "A zoo has a massive role to play at local, European and global levels. It has an unparalleled ability to reach a huge audience and inspire millions of visitors with its key messages of biodiversity and wildlife conservation".

The zoo is grateful for the support from the Lord Mayor and Councillor Cahal Mullaghan who also attended the dinner. The successful BIAZA conference was a team effort, and will hopefully encourage other larger zoo conferences in the future.