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Conference Schedule
Tuesday 3rd November
Registration from 3pm | Welcome Function 4-6pm
Arrive, connect and settle in with fellow delegates. The Welcome Function is included in your registration, providing the perfect opportunity to network with the nutrition community and begin this immersive conference experience together.
Wednesday 4th November
Conference programme 8:00am-4:30pm
The day opens with a welcome and group photo, followed by a plenary speaker then research presentations. In the afternoon, choose from two concurrent workshops before more research presentations and a closing plenary speaker session.
NSNZ 60th Anniversary: 4:30pm-5:30pm
More details to come.
Thursday 5th November
Conference programme 8:30am-5:30pm
The morning features plenary speakers and research presentations. Choose from two concurrent workshops in the afternoon, then come together for a Talanoa dialogue on regional priorities before the conference closes.
Travel planning: Delegates are encouraged to arrive in time for the welcome event on Tuesday afternoon and depart after the conclusion of the conference programme on Thursday. Find information about the venue and accommodation options here.
Conference Speakers
Conference Speakers
Prof Welma Stonehouse
Advancing the Science of Nutrition: A Talanoa of Leadership, Service and the Power of Connection
Welma Stonehouse is a Professor of Nutrition at Deakin University, Australia, whose career has been shaped not only by a passion for nutrition science, but also by a commitment to connecting people, developing leaders and strengthening the global nutrition community. As an internationally recognised nutrition scientist with over 30 years' experience in academic, research and leadership roles across South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, her research focuses on nutrition interventions for the prevention and management of chronic disease.
Professor Stonehouse believes that advances in nutrition science arise from the collaborations, communities and shared sense of purpose that bring people together. She currently serves as Treasurer of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) and is Past President of the Nutrition Society of Australia. She has played a pivotal role in establishing and growing initiatives including the Federation of Oceanic Nutrition Societies (FONS), the African Nutrition Leadership Program (ANLP), and the Oceanic Nutrition Leadership Platform (ONLP). In recognition of her contributions to nutrition science and the profession, she received the prestigious Muriel Bell Award from the Nutrition Society of New Zealand in 2013.
Mrs Ateca Kama
Pacific Innovations in Nutrition: Local Solutions with Global Relevance
Mrs Ateca Kama is the Chief Dietitian and Nutritionist at the National Food and Nutrition Centre of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in Fiji. Manaing the Dietetics and Nutrition Services, and a government civil servant for the past thirty years, she is responsible for the formulation of regulations, policies, guidelines and plans on dietetics and nutrition, and food and nutrition security.
Mrs Kama champions breastfeeding, and advocates and coordinates optimal food and nutrition security through cross-sectoral collaboration within government, civil society organizations and development partners. She is also the Sub-Cluster lead for Nutrition in the Health and Nutrition Cluster for nutrition preparedness and response during disasters and emergencies, and is the Nutrition focal point for the National Codex Committee in Fiji.
A/Prof Sarah Burkhart
Joint Plenary with Elisiva Na'ati
Sarah Burkhart is an Associate Professor in Nutrition, Deputy Director (Research and Policy) and Nutrition Smart Food Systems theme lead at the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research, University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC).
A/Prof Burkhart’s current work spans the South Pacific region where she leads and contributes to a range of projects to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture. A key focus of Sarah’s work is school food and nutrition environments in the South Pacific and the potential these have for transformational food system change, improved nutrition, health and educational outcomes, climate resilience and livelihoods.
A/Prof Burkhart is the President of the Federation of Oceanic Nutrition Societies (FONS) and Chair of the Pacific School Food Network.
Elisiva Na’ati
Joint Plenary with A/Prof Sarah Burkhart
Elisiva Na’ati is from the Kingdom of Tonga, a dietitian with over 20 years of experience in dietetics and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). She currently serves as the NCD Adviser for Public Health Nutrition with the Pacific Community (SPC), based in Suva, Fiji. In her role, she provides support to the 22 Pacific Island Countries and Territories to enhance their efforts in preventing and controlling NCDs. Prior to this position, she worked for the Ministry of Health in Tonga, where she contributed to advancing nutrition and diabetes prevention and care.
More speakers to be announced soon!
Research Presentations
More than 30 researchers, practitioners and students from across Oceania will share their latest work in short abstract presentations across the two days.
Topics range from traditional Pacific and Māori food knowledge and school food environments to infant and maternal nutrition, food affordability, weight stigma, gut health and functional foods. The full list of presentations will be released closer to the conference.
Workshops
Concurrent Workshops - Wed 4th Nov
Nourish Your Network: Science Communication for Impact
An interactive session for students and early career researchers and professionals, this workshop aims to build confidence communicating nutrition science clearly and engagingly to different audiences. The session will explore hands-on practice crafting an "elevator pitch," peer feedback, and a look at how generative AI can support (and where it falls short for) research communication.
Facilitated by: Dr Jennifer Gale and Dr Michael Houghton, with co-presenter Ritnesh Vishal Prasad
Turning Evidence into Meaningful Community Impact
Drawing on the Pacific Islands Families (PIF) Study, Aotearoa's first Pacific birth cohort, now in its 25th year, following 1,398 Pacific children born in South Auckland in 2000, this workshop uses real research decisions as a case study for translating nutrition evidence into community impact. The workshop will also explore how insights from Pacific nutrition research can contribute to workforce capability, drawing on experiences from the AUT Certificate of Proficiency in Pacific Nutrition (CPPN), developed and delivered through a partnership between AUT and the Pacific Heartbeat team at the Heart Foundation of New Zealand.
Facilitated by: Dr. Shabnam Jalili-Moghaddam, Dr Fa'asisila Savila, Prof El-Shadan Tautolo and Alexandria Nicholas
Concurrent Workshops - Thu 5th Nov:
Strengthening Nutrition Assessment Education
This workshop is hosted by the FONS Dietary Assessmen and Higher Education Taskforces, and will explore opportunities to strengthen the design and delivery of nutrition assessment education across tertiary nutrition programmes, bringing together perspectives to identify priorities for enhancing education and practice in this area.
Facilitated by: A/Prof Tracy McCaffrey and A/Prof Sarah Burkhart
Complementary Feeding: The Journey of Learning to Eat
This interactive workshop will explore complementary feeding as more than meeting nutrient requirements, considering it as an important developmental period in which infants learn to manage tastes and textures, develop oral feeding skills, begin to self-feed and transition towards family foods. Through discussion and practical activities, participants will consider how early feeding experiences may shape later eating behaviours and health, while exploring how complementary feeding guidance can be applied within the diverse cultural and food environments of Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific.
Facilitated by: Professor Cath Conlon, Dr Ali Hill and Salanieta Naliva