NDF25 CALL FOR PROPOSALS

INTRODUCING NDF26 HONONGA\CONNECTIONS

The 2026 National Digital Forum (NDF) Conference provides a space for learning, connection, inspiration, and to encourage collaboration across Aotearoa’s cultural landscape. NDF provides a unique opportunity to connect with colleagues across the GLAMMIR (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums, Marae, Iwi, Records) sector in Aotearoa and beyond. 

NDF was born back in 2001, when the internet was considered an information superhighway. Billions of hyperlinks later, we are more connected than ever, yet at the same time, social cohesion and trust in information is decreasing. Cultural organisations are needed now more than ever in the digital realm - to go beyond our walls, into our communities, and to connect with our users where they are.

We are sharing, creating content, designing digital experiences, and reading the comments. We are the subject of our visitors’ gaze, touch, cameras, reels, and Google reviews. In a world where attention spans are shrinking, technology is hallucinating, and the information superhighway is littered with slop, how do we stay relevant for our communities?

It turns out that digital is more than a screen or technology. It’s a mode, an increasingly inescapable way of doing things. Sometimes, it can feel like magic. To be digital is to be connected: on multiple levels and in many directions, with individuals, communities, states, and multinational platforms. These connections aren’t neutral, they’re ethically and technically complicated, and they’re not always accessible to everyone.

Whether we like it or not, this is our hyperconnected world, and cultural organisations are in it. We’re here. What do we do now?  

NDF26 Hononga \ Connections is our time to meet, share, and figure it out together.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

NDF is calling for inspiring and thought-provoking submissions that build and explore connections across your work, your organisation, your community, or your sector. 

Whether you’ve presented at NDF before or are new to the community, we welcome diverse voices and fresh perspectives. We want to hear about digital successes AND failures, challenges to the status quo, and reinvigorating community collaborations.

Within the theme of HONONGA\CONNECTIONS, we have three conference pou\topics designed to guide your submissions:

Weaving community connections

How are digital tools and storytelling being used to build meaningful relationships, foster community collaboration, bridge cultural gaps, and support engagement and learning?

• How have you used digital to create meaningful spaces and experiences that help audiences feel connected to their history and to each other?

• What connections are you building or facilitating to help strengthen and ground your community, and what role do digital tools play? 

• How is your organisation working in partnership with communities to preserve and share indigenous knowledge and heritage?

• What role does digital play in creating an accessible and inclusive experience?

• When working with communities, which digital connections are you choosing not to make? How are you embedding data sovereignty in your digital practice?

Crafting collaboration and innovation

How are we working together to build capability, shared practice, and innovative responses in a changing environment?

• How is your organisation approaching the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI)? What use cases are being proven or disproven?

• Have you pooled resources or created shared projects with other cultural organisations to enhance your capability and impact? 

• How have you collaborated with partners and other industries to deliver innovative projects?

• How have you evolved your design and use of digital technologies to enhance visitor experiences, both online and onsite?

• Have you found innovative digital methods or created effective digital experiences on a low budget? 

• What have you learned from a project that didn't go as planned? How has "successful failure" helped you or your team build a more experimental mindset?

Confronting challenges 

How are cultural organisations advocating for the collective good, navigating ethical complexities, and managing limited resources in an environment of uncertainty and change?  

• How are you advocating for the value of the GLAMMIR sector in a challenging political and economic climate?

• How are you developing strategy and sustaining a shared vision for the future when the technological ground is constantly shifting beneath us?

• How are your digital choices influenced by the realities of climate change and the ethical questions around emerging technologies and platforms - especially with regard to AI?

• Have you successfully or unsuccessfully challenged the status quo within your organisation to change your digital practice?

• How are you finding ways to connect with your audience in an increasingly saturated and confusing information space? 

• How are you managing limited resources while still meeting audience expectations? What role does digital technology play?

If you have an idea that doesn't quite fit under these topics, but you believe it would be valuable for the conference, please submit it.

If you're not sure if your idea or project is up to snuff, reach out to us at conference@ndf.org.nz and we can help you craft your submission.

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

Submit your proposal and help us make NDF26 a space for growth, connection, and bold new ideas. Let’s work together to create a world-leading digital cultural community for Aotearoa!

The deadline for submissions is Friday, 31 May 2026, 5PM NZT.Accepted presenters will be notified by email in June.

More details on submission guidelines and formats can be found in the presenter information section below.