IAG2023: Media release: Hundreds of geography experts gather in Perth

MEDIA RELEASE

Tuesday, 4 July 2023  

Hundreds of geography experts gather in Perth

A major event in Perth is bringing together more than 200 experts in geography from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Europe, England, Asia, South Africa and the USA. 

The annual Institute of Australian Geographers (IAG) conference kicks off today in Perth. The conference brings together researchers, urban planners, students, educators and a variety of individuals that work in the field of geography. There will be 201 speakers, 220 workshops and 13 study groups will meet. 

IAG President Professor Jennifer Carter said: “The discipline called ‘geography’ is incredibly diverse.” 

“It impacts everything in our world that is important including our land, the oceans, the weather and how we live on the planet.” 

This year’s conference theme is Coexistence, Collaboration and Geography. The theme recognises that the planet’s health and the human race’s survival are inextricably linked and that research outcomes are enriched by diverse partnerships and the contribution of individuals from many specialities. 

Conference attendees will also include spatial researchers, First Nations researchers, physical and human geographers, geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing specialists, anthropologists, planners, environmental scientists and architects. 

Keynote speakers are: 

• Dr Emma Ligtermoet, a CSIRO post-doctoral fellow and human-environment geographer from the University of Western Australia and Australian National University who researches how people navigate social-ecological change in freshwater and coastal environments.
• Professor Mark Gahegan, a computer scientist/geographer at the University of Auckland whose research includes geovisualization, spatial analysis, geocomputation, and remote sensing.
• Professor Jo McDonald, who is an archaeologist, rock art specialist and the Director of the Centre for Rock Art Research + Management at the University of Western Australia.
• Associate Professor Emily O’Gorman, an Australian Research Council Future Fellow from Macquarie University, whose latest book is Wetlands in a Dry Land: More-than-human Histories of Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin.
• Associate Professor Thom van Dooren, Deputy Director of the Sydney Environment Institute and Associate Professor in the School of Humanities at the University of Sydney who recently published A World in a Shell: Snail Stories for a Time of Extinctions. 

Workshop session streams are grouped into topics exploring the geography of health, politics, culture, land management, risk and resilience; their impacts on people and the planet; and education about geography.

The annual awards ceremony is Thursday night. Recipients will be announced on the IAG website. 

Jennifer said: “The award recipients are producing work that has the potential to make an impact on our planet – and they’re inspiring role models for any researcher, student or geography enthusiast.”  

Follow the action on the IAG’s Twitter account: https://twitter.com/InstAustGeog

The conference runs from 4-7 July 2023 at Curtin University’s Bentley campus. 

The event is co-hosted by Curtin University and the University of Western Australia in partnership with the Institute of Australian Geographers.

Conference website: https://www.iag23perth.com.au/index.php 

IAG website: https://www.iag.org.au/ 

Download the media release (pdf 202 kb).

Media:
Nicole Miller
Communications Officer
0402 040 471
nicole@nicolemiller.com.au