IFPA 2023 Meeting in Rotorua a great success

The 2023 IFPA meeting was held 5– 8 of September 2023 at the Novotel Lakeside Hotel, Rotorua, New Zealand  The meeting theme was “Whenua: the foundation of life” which pays respect to the Māori people of New Zealand, who place great cultural importance on the placenta (whenua), and for whom it is customary to bury their placenta on traditional tribal lands to tie them back to their ancestry.

The meeting was attended by 294 delegates in total, with good representation from all parts of the globe. The meeting programme included workshop sessions, symposia, poster sessions and award lectures.  As is customary in New Zealand, the meeting was opened with the blessing of the local iwi (Māori tribe), who spoke in Te Reo of the importance of the placenta.

The meeting featured a number of social events including the welcome function held on the Tuesday evening at the Skyline, where after a gondola ride up delegates could choose to participate in some luging down the hill.  This proved very popular, and resulted in some excellent photos (see below!) as well as some new introductions made on the rides back up the chairlift. Wednesday night saw the New Investigators head to The Beer Garden for a social mixer, and Thursday evening provided delegates the opportunity to sign up for a trip to the Redwoods Treewalk – which is lit up beautifully at night.  Finally, the meeting ended with a gala dinner held at Te Puia, where delegates dined and danced framed by Māori carvings.