Missing Out on CCW2026

One of the downsides of living in New Zealand is that sometimes the rest of the world gets together without you.

 Next week, thousands of critical communications professionals will gather at the Critical Communications World 2026 in London. The event brings together industry experts, government authorities, operators, vendors, and public safety organisations from more than 100 countries to discuss the future of critical communications.

 For someone based in New Zealand, attending is not always straightforward. London is almost on the opposite side of the world from us. In fact, the distance between New Zealand and London is close to the maximum possible separation between two major populated locations on Earth.

 Over the past few years I’ve been actively involved in several TCCA task forces and working groups. That has meant plenty of late evening calls, early morning workshops, and more than a few 2am meetings to accommodate global time zones.

 Despite the odd hours, it has been a privilege to work alongside people from around the world who are helping shape the future of critical communications. The discussions are often technical, sometimes challenging, but always valuable. I’ve learned a huge amount from colleagues across Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, and beyond.

 What I miss most about not attending the London event is the opportunity for face-to-face conversations.

 Many of the people attending are individuals I’ve worked with for years. We’ve collaborated on workshops, debated standards, contributed to task forces, and shared experiences across countless online meetings. Yet for many of them, we’ve never actually met in person.

 There is something different about the conversations that happen between sessions, over coffee, or at the end of a long day. Ideas flow more freely, relationships deepen, and you often learn as much from informal discussions as you do from the conference programme itself.

 So while I’ll be following the event from the other side of the world, I’m also looking forward to seeing the photos, hearing the announcements, and catching up with the many people I’ve only ever met through a screen.

 Perhaps next year.