DEVNET 2026 Conference

This year’s theme, 'Rebalancing Worlds—Remaking Practice', invites us to reflect critically on development practice and explore pathways to more just and equitable futures. The conference is hosted by the Development Studies Programme within the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.

Cluster 1—Geopolitical shifts: Regional and global dynamics of aid funding. This thematic cluster foregrounds questions of solidarity amidst declining resources, examining how states, multilateral institutions, civil society, and communities negotiate responsibility, care, and justice in uneven development landscapes.

Cluster 2—Mauri ora: Health and wellbeing of people, land and ocean. This cluster explores how human health and wellbeing are inseparable from the vitality of land, waters, and oceans.

Cluster 3—Decolonising development: Rethinking development theory, policy and practice. This cluster centres ‘decolonising development’ as an ongoing, contested, and necessary project.

Talanoa Sessions—Sharing, connecting, storying. These sessions provide an open, relational space for sharing, connecting, and storying beyond formal academic presentations.