WAZA Mid-Year Meeting 2025: A Global Community United for Conservation 

The 2025 WAZA Mid-Year Meeting marked a significant moment for the global zoo and aquarium community, as professionals from around the world came together online to connect, exchange insights, and collaborate around shared goals. Held virtually on 23-24 July, the meeting was framed by a meaningful theme: Uniting Voices. Sharing Impact. Shaping the Future. And this year, there was even more to celebrate: WAZA’s 90th anniversary. 

Celebrating 90 Years of Global Impact 

This year’s meeting carried special significance, marking WAZA’s 90th anniversary. Since 1935, the association has grown from a small group of zoo directors into a global alliance of regional associations, national federations and leading institutions. Across nine decades, WAZA has stood at the forefront of conservation: helping to found the IUCN, taking a stand against illegal wildlife trade and supporting species recovery efforts worldwide. 

The meeting’s guiding theme – Uniting Voices, Sharing Impact, Shaping the Future – reflected both the legacy and the future focus of the community. The programme centred on three pillars: Inclusion, ensuring accessibility across time zones and professional levels; Exchange, creating space for dialogue and innovation; and Transformation, delivering focused sessions designed to spark change. 

Day 1  From Vision to Action: Driving Change Through Collective Leadership 

Day 1 opened with a warm welcome from WAZA President Karen Fifield, who reflected on the association’s 90th anniversary, highlighted the impact of member contributions, and encouraged active participation in shaping WAZA’s conservation goals. WAZA CEO Dr Martín Zordan followed with an update on recent developments within the association, including upcoming changes to the bylaws and what members can expect from the 2025 Council elections. 

The meeting’s first keynote, delivered by Andy Ridley, CEO of Citizens of the Reef, set a powerful and inspiring tone for the day. Drawing on his experience launching global movements like Earth Hour, Ridley shared how the Great Reef Census is revolutionising marine conservation by blending AI, citizen science and scalable restoration. He illustrated how ordinary people, from divers to school children, are helping analyse reef imagery through a gamified digital platform, contributing to one of the largest citizen-led conservation efforts in the world. His message was clear: conservation must be collaborative, tech-enabled, and community-powered, and aquariums and zoos can be key drivers in scaling impact by engaging millions of visitors. 

Following the keynote, two panel discussions addressed pressing issues relevant to the global zoo and aquarium community. The first panel examined public perceptions of zoos and aquariums across different generations and regions, urging institutions to foster meaningful, two-way dialogue with their visitors instead of relying on one-way messaging. The second panel focused on the value of WAZA membership, with both long-standing and newly joined members highlighting the benefits of being part of a global network that fosters knowledge exchange, diverse perspectives, and continuous learning. The day closed with an interactive workshop on WAZA’s 2030 Conservation Goal.  

Day 2: Looking Ahead with Vision and Purpose 

Day 2 began by an opening address from Her Excellency Razan Al Mubarak, President of IUCN. She spoke of the vital role zoos and aquariums play in advancing global biodiversity goals and urged deeper involvement in policy, research and advocacy. Razan acknowledged WAZA’s founding role in IUCN and called for greater integration, between in-situ and ex-situ conservation, regional expertise, shared tools and strategies. She stressed the need for transformative collaboration, equitable data sharing, and early co-planning with conservation agencies. Her remarks also highlighted IUCN’s commitment to its members, referencing WAZA-supported changes to membership dues and reaffirming the need for coordinated action, innovation, and ethical use of technologies like AI. 

WAZA’s Head of Partnerships and Advocacy, Loïs Lelanchon, delivered a mid-year update on strategic collaborations, highlighting efforts to elevate the collective voice of WAZA members. He also outlined progress on joint advocacy initiatives with IUCN, CITES, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, aimed at strengthening global recognition of the vital role zoos and aquariums play in driving conservation impact. 

This was followed by an inspiring keynote from Professor Esme Ward, Director of Manchester Museum, who spoke about empathy, institutional change and building caring futures through inclusive transformation. Ward shared how one of the UK’s oldest university museums became a beacon of innovation and social justice. Its £15 million transformation was driven not just by architecture but by values: inclusion, care, and imagination. She underscored emotional connection, ethical repatriation, and listening as acts of institutional courage, reminding us that care is not a soft value, but a strategic one. 

Strategy Director Mike Clifford shared updates on the Reverse the Red initiative, including progress on global conservation assessments and improved capacity-building support across regions. He stressed the need for shared metrics, transparency and sustained engagement to drive measurable change. 

Facing Risks and Building Resilience  

Kristin Demoranville, CEO of AnzenSage, brought a fresh perspective to the community with her keynote on cybersecurity. Her message was clear: digital security is an essential part of animal welfare and institutional continuity yet often overlooked in our community.  

The second half of the programme turned to emerging issues and opportunities. A panel moderated by Gareth Siddorn explored recent UK legislative changes and what they mean for the global community. The discussion included reflections on regulatory uncertainty, challenges around animal transport and species lists, and the importance of speaking with a unified voice to influence public policy. Participants agreed on the value of proactive engagement and the role of associations in shaping evidence-based regulation. 

Douglas Eriksen shared hard-earned lessons from the devastating floods at Cango Wildlife Ranch in 2024, reminding all of us that resilience is as much about people as it is about planning. He described the emotional toll of the disaster on staff and animals alike, and the vital importance of communication, preparedness and the local community in crisis response. His story offered a powerful reminder of the challenges faced during crises and highlighted the strength of leadership and community in responding with resilience. 

Peggy Sloan, CEO of Seattle Aquarium and WAZA Council Member, addressed the unique challenges facing aquariums. She spoke about the increased scrutiny and complexity in communicating ocean conservation, the rising costs of infrastructure and energy, and the urgent need for joined-up narratives that connect aquatic systems to the broader biodiversity agenda. 

The day closed with a session on the power of master planning, led by Tim Schikora of Schwerin Zoo and Karen Fifield, WAZA President. The discussion demonstrated how long-term visioning and collaborative design can future-proof zoos and aquariums and reinforce their role as centres of learning, care and impact. 

A Community that Leads, Together 

WAZA Vice-President David Field offered closing reflections, underscoring the importance of shared vision, collective leadership and cross-sector unity. As the Mid-Year Meeting concluded, participants were reminded that WAZA is not just a network but a movement, one that unites voices, shares impact and shapes a better future for people, animals and the planet. 

Whether this was your first WAZA event or your fiftieth, the 2025 Mid-Year Meeting served as a powerful reminder of what is possible when we come together with purpose and ambition.