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Adelaide (Tarntanya) – a liveable, friendly and forward-thinking city

 

Adelaide is South Australia’s cosmopolitan coastal capital, and the fifth largest city in Australia. Ranked one of the world’s friendliest and most liveable cities, it is green and spacious, yet it has large city infrastructure and technology.

It's perfect for a conference delegate, with everything you need within its easily-walkable boundaries. There are many hotels within a five-minute walk of the convention centre, which is surrounded by an abundance of vibrant restaurants, bars and laneways.

The Kaurna are the original people of Adelaide and the Adelaide Plains. The area now occupied by the city and parklands is called Tarntanya (red kangaroo place) and was the heart of Kaurna country. Before 1836 it was an open grassy plain with patches of trees and shrubs, the result of hundreds of generations of skillful land management. Kaurna country encompassed the plains which stretched north and south from Tarntanya and the wooded foothills of the range which borders them to the east. Today, the Kaurna are the custodians of the Adelaide region and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to the living Kaurna people today.

The modern Adelaide was designed as a city within a park, surrounded by nature, that could grow in a sustainable way. Today, this visionary thinking and forward planning are acknowledged by urban town planners and historians as a master work. It’s also a shining example of Adelaide’s rich history of innovation and South Australia’s pioneering spirit:

  • the first Australian city to be planned, developed and settled by free settlers without convict labour
  • the first Australian city to have an elected council
  • the first state to grant women, including Aboriginal women, the right to vote for and stand as parliamentary candidates
  • the first state to decriminalise homosexuality.

Adelaide was founded with early ideals of freedom, diversity and inclusion, which have inspired a lasting culture of thoughtful innovation that distinguishes it from other cities.

In recent years, Adelaide has quickly become a technological highland with a global impact. It has developed transformative innovations in multiple fields including AI, cybersecurity, robotics, smart sensors and big data.

Its forward-thinking spirit can be seen in the state’s investment into future industries such as clean technologies and water management, defence, bioscience, aerospace and aviation, education, mining and energy, food and wine, agriculture and aquaculture, information and communication technology, and advanced manufacturing.

  • Lot Fourteen Innovation and Technology Park – the new home of some of the world’s leading names in emerging technologies, including the Australian Space Agency, the Australian Institute for Machine Learning, Stone and Chalk, Expose and the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre.
  • Adelaide Bio-med City – one of the world’s largest life sciences clusters combining world-leading research, education, clinical care and business development facilities.
  • Tonsley Innovation District – one of Australia’s largest innovation districts, which is assisting South Australian businesses in their move up the value chain and into global markets.
  • Waite Research Institute – the largest concentration of agricultural research and teaching expertise in the southern hemisphere. Waite is a world-renowned brand in agricultural research and education and a leading centre of Australian research capability in wine, grains, soil and plant breeding.

If you are thinking of extending your stay, the CBD is just a stone’s throw from South Australia’s world-famous wine regions and beautiful beaches, which are popular for pre- and post- event touring options. 

Things to do in Adelaide

View map of Adelaide

Key dates

9 February - Call for proposals opens

10 March - Call for proposals closes

1 June - Registration open

July - Program released

31 July - Super early bird registration closes

4 September - Early bird registration closes

10–13 October – AIEC 2023