Kia Ora and very warm Pacific greetings from Aotearoa, New Zealand

NAVIGATING NEW HORIZONS

10TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY

It is our pleasure to host the ICCDPP International Symposium on Career Development and Public Policy in Auckland, New Zealand, from the 22nd - 24th of November 2026.

The theme for the symposium is 'Navigating New Horizons' and draws on the idea of our Pacific forebears and their journey using the stars to find their way. These wayfarers were pioneers of the Pacific, and we look to their inspiration to guide us in our work.

For the Symposium, we have framed ‘Navigating New Horizons’ under three subthemes:

1. Productivity and the inclusive economy
2. Enhancing skills and developing technical and vocational education
3. Ensuring disadvantaged groups can thrive.

The Symposium is a unique invitational event that brings small country teams together to share ideas on innovations and common challenges for the purpose of advancing career guidance policy, systems development, and policy implementation. 

Small country teams comprising of leaders in guidance policy, practice, and research (n=approximately 3-6 team members per country) collaborate in working sessions with representatives of relevant international organisations such as ILO, OECD, EC, ETF, CEDEFOP, UNESCO, WB, IVETA, and IAEVG to maximize exchange, learning, and action. 

As part of the preparation, participating country teams and international organisations will be required to respond to a questionnaire on the Symposium subthemes in early 2026. Their responses will be analysed, synthesised, and used as catalysts for targeted group discussions at the Symposium. 

The Symposium results in a Communique reflecting the collective conclusions and recommendations of participating countries and includes the opportunity to create specific country plans.

Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi
"With your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive."
Māori whakatauki (saying) emphasising that working together leads to prosperity and survival for the group, as opposed to isolated efforts.