THE PROGRAMME
Draft Programme
The 2nd New Zealand Prevention Imperative: Universal Wellbeing Conference 2026 brings together researchers, educators, policymakers, community leaders, public health practitioners, and wellbeing professionals to explore prevention-focused approaches that strengthen individual, organisational, community, and societal wellbeing.
Across two days, delegates will engage with keynote presentations, research papers, practical workshops, interactive discussions, and emerging evidence designed to advance Universal Wellbeing research, policy, education, and practice throughout New Zealand and beyond.
Final Programme Release: 3 August 2026 (following the close of presentation submissions)
Draft Programme Download
The current draft programme can be downloaded below.
Conference Themes
Prevention, Public Policy & Societal Wellbeing
Exploring prevention-focused approaches to justice, addiction, education, family violence prevention, wellbeing measurement, evaluation, and national leadership.
Community, Mental Health & Wellbeing
Exploring prevention-focused approaches that strengthen mental health, workforce wellbeing, disability inclusion, community resilience, policy development, and long-term wellbeing outcomes.
DAY ONE
Prevention, Public Policy & Societal Wellbeing
Exploring prevention-focused approaches across justice, public health, education, family violence prevention, wellbeing measurement, evaluation, inclusion, and national leadership.
OPENING KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Rt Hon Paul Goldsmith
Minister for Justice | Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage | Minister for Media and Communications | Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations
Keeping Everyone Safe: Reducing Crime and Harm in New Zealand
One in three New Zealanders have experienced the impacts of crime. This keynote explores New Zealand's current priorities for reducing victimisation, strengthening community safety, and improving outcomes across the justice system. Minister Goldsmith will discuss practical approaches to reducing serious and violent offending, addressing the underlying drivers of harm, strengthening collaboration between government and communities, and supporting prevention-focused responses that contribute to safer, stronger communities and improved wellbeing outcomes.
EDUCATIONAL WELLBEING RESEARCH WORKSHOP
Susan Stevenson
Director, FREEDOM Wellbeing Institute
Universal Wellbeing Model (UWM) Lifts Educational Achievement
This workshop provides an overview of the sixteen-year research programme underpinning the Universal Wellbeing Model and reviews emerging evidence demonstrating the impact of Universal Wellbeing Evaluation and Literacy (UWEL) interventions on learner engagement, retention, and higher education programme completion.
ADDICTION & PUBLIC HEALTH
Professor Chris Wilkins
Leader, NZ Drug Research Team, SHORE & Whāriki Research Centre, College of Health, Massey University
Addictions as a Poor Wellbeing Metric: What the Research Says and What We Need to Do Next
Drawing on decades of research into drug markets, substance use trends, public policy, organised crime, harm reduction, medicinal cannabis, and community wellbeing outcomes, Professor Wilkins examines addiction as an indicator of poor wellbeing and explores the wider social, economic, and public health implications of substance-related harm. The session considers emerging drug trends, prevention opportunities, and evidence-informed policy responses that can contribute to healthier communities and improved long-term wellbeing outcomes.
FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Naomi Ogg
Chief Executive Officer, National Collective of Independent Women's Refuges
Family Violence: When Home is Not Safe – Healing Family Wellbeing
Drawing on more than a decade of leadership within the family violence sector, Naomi Ogg explores the importance of prevention, community-led responses, and long-term approaches to reducing family violence and harm. Through insights gained from working alongside whānau, communities, and frontline services, she examines how stronger system responses, safer communities, and intergenerational wellbeing can be achieved through prevention-focused action and sustainable community partnerships.
PREVENTION SCIENCE
Dr Tom Nehmy
Director, Healthy Minds Education & Training | Visiting Research Fellow, Adelaide University
The Science and Practice of Prevention: How Universal Wellbeing Can Change the World
Award-winning clinical psychologist Dr Tom Nehmy examines why rates of anxiety, depression, and eating disorders among young people continue to rise despite unprecedented investment in student wellbeing. Drawing on more than a decade at the forefront of prevention science, he explores practical pathways for reversing these trends, including evidence-based approaches used in schools and communities. The session introduces the Healthy Minds Wellbeing Wheel and explores how its six domains align with the Universal Wellbeing Model while providing practical strategies capable of creating lasting generational change.
UNIVERSAL WELLBEING MEASUREMENT
Dr Syed M. Shahid
Eastern Institute of Technology
The Greatest Global Challenge: Measuring Universal Wellbeing
Measuring wellbeing remains one of the most significant challenges facing governments, organisations, researchers, and communities worldwide. This presentation explores the complexity of measuring authentically holistic wellbeing across diverse populations and examines emerging approaches that support evidence-informed policy, planning, intervention design, and evaluation. Dr Shahid discusses why accurate wellbeing measurement is critical to achieving long-term prevention and equity outcomes.
INTERACTIVE EVALUATION WORKSHOP
Conference Faculty
FREEDOM Wellbeing Institute / New Zealand Curriculum Design Institute
Understanding and Experiencing the Universal Wellbeing Evaluation Tool (UWET)
This interactive workshop introduces participants to the AI-assisted Universal Wellbeing Evaluation Tool (UWET), designed to quantitatively measure authentically holistic wellbeing. Participants will gain firsthand experience of the evaluation process and explore how wellbeing data can support organisational improvement, prevention-focused decision-making, and evidence-based interventions.
EDUCATION, BELONGING & PREVENTION
Emma Hunter
Deputy Principal | Founder, BrainHug Charitable Trust | PhD Candidate, Queensland University of Technology
Wired to Thrive: Neuroplasticity, Belonging and the Prevention Imperative
Drawing on relational neuroscience, trauma-informed practice, educational leadership, and emerging doctoral research, Emma Hunter explores how belonging, relational safety, and co-regulation function as powerful prevention-focused foundations for wellbeing. The presentation examines how positive relationships and neuroplasticity support resilience, engagement, learning, and thriving, while proposing a shift from crisis response towards intentionally designed systems that support long-term wellbeing across education, communities, and society.
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION & NEURODIVERSITY
Foram Shah
Inclusive Education | Education Consultant | Curriculum Design | Neurodiversity Specialist | Autism, ADHD, Vision & Hearing School Learning Support | Mathematics & Learning Support | International Speaker
From Reactive Support to Preventative Design: Applying the Universal Wellbeing Model to Inclusive Education and Neurodiversity Practice
Education systems are increasingly experiencing workforce pressure, staff burnout, and complex student wellbeing needs. This presentation explores how the Universal Wellbeing Model can help shift practice from reactive intervention to preventative system design. Grounded in neurodiversity-informed and inclusive education practice, the session examines how wellbeing is shaped across individual, relational, organisational, and community systems and provides practical strategies for creating more inclusive, accessible, and sustainable learning environments.
DAY ONE CLOSE
Conference Drinks & Dinner
DAY TWO
Community, Mental Health & Wellbeing
Exploring prevention-focused approaches that strengthen mental health, workforce wellbeing, inclusion, community resilience, policy development, and long-term wellbeing outcomes.
WORKFORCE WELLBEING
Dr Esther Ochoga
President, Workplace Care USA | Clinical Chaplain in Organisational Wellbeing Practice
Spiritual Intelligence & Chaplaincy Integration for Organisational Wellbeing: A Prevention-First Framework for Workforce Resilience
This presentation explores how spiritual intelligence and chaplaincy-informed approaches can contribute to healthier workplace cultures, stronger leadership practices, workforce resilience, and improved organisational wellbeing outcomes.
WORKPLACE WELLBEING & EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Dr Neeraj Dhiman
Assistant Professor, Department of Management Studies, National Institute of Technology Hamirpur, India
From Mindfulness to Workplace Impact: The Role of Employee Engagement in Fostering Advocacy and Innovative Work Behaviour
Drawing on the Universal Wellbeing Model and a multi-study research programme, this presentation explores how wellbeing-related motivations influence employee engagement, happiness, optimism, innovation, and workplace advocacy. The session provides practical insights into how organisations can strengthen workforce wellbeing while supporting productivity, engagement, and positive organisational outcomes.
COMMUNITY WELLBEING PANEL
National Leaders & Practitioners
Community Voice: Transforming Universal Wellbeing in New Zealand
This facilitated panel brings together community leaders, practitioners, and sector representatives from across New Zealand to explore practical approaches to strengthening community wellbeing outcomes.
Panel members will share insights into the challenges, opportunities, and innovations emerging within communities and discuss how prevention-focused strategies, collaboration, and local leadership can contribute to safer, healthier, and more connected communities for future generations.
Panel members will be announced shortly and will include leaders from community development, social services, local government, health, education, family wellbeing, and not-for-profit sectors.
ECONOMIC & SOCIAL WELLBEING KEYNOTE & MINI-WORKSHOP
Shamubeel Eaqub
Chief Economist, Simplicity
Professor Kay Fielden
New Zealand Curriculum Design Institute | Te Wānanga Hoahoa Mātauranga Aotearoa
National Cohesion: Social or Universal Wellbeing Informed – Which Matters?
This combined keynote and interactive workshop examines the relationship between social cohesion, economic prosperity, and wellbeing. Participants will explore whether social wellbeing or Universal Wellbeing provides the stronger foundation for long-term cohesion, resilience, and collective flourishing.
SUICIDE PREVENTION
Dr Denise Kingi-'Ulu'ave
Specialist Clinical and Translational Lead, Le Va & Wise Group | Acting Chair, Aotearoa Primary Prevention Collective
Preventing Suicide: The Evidence – We Can Do It in New Zealand
Drawing on more than twenty years of experience across psychology, public health, suicide prevention, Pasifika wellbeing, and community leadership, Dr Denise Kingi-'Ulu'ave explores evidence-informed approaches to suicide prevention and the critical role of primary prevention in strengthening community wellbeing. The session examines culturally responsive practice, workforce capability, community resilience, and system-level approaches that support thriving individuals, families, and communities.
DISABILITY & INCLUSION
Dr M Tasdik Hasan
Policy and Advocacy Lead, Mental Health Council of Tasmania | PhD Fellow, Action Lab, Monash University
Supporting the Deaf and Those with Disabilities: Wellbeing for Everyone
Dr Hasan explores how prevention-focused approaches can improve wellbeing outcomes for people living with disability while promoting greater inclusion, participation, accessibility, and equity. Drawing on international experience across public health, disability inclusion, digital wellbeing, and policy development, he examines practical strategies that help organisations, communities, and governments create more inclusive wellbeing systems.
NATIONAL PREVENTION STRATEGY
Susan Stevenson
Director, FREEDOM Wellbeing Institute
Universal Wellbeing Charter: Realising the Vision in New Zealand
This presentation explores the case for a National Prevention Universal Wellbeing Centre in New Zealand and examines how a prevention-first, evidence-based approach could support long-term societal wellbeing outcomes. The session considers how the Universal Wellbeing Charter can provide a framework for coordinated prevention, cross-sector collaboration, and a more holistic national response to complex wellbeing challenges.
RESEARCH, POLICY & PRACTICE FORUM
Dr M Tasdik Hasan
Mental Health Council of Tasmania
Susan Stevenson
FREEDOM Wellbeing Institute
An Exploration of Wellbeing – Facilitated Grounded Theory
This facilitated and interactive session contributes to future public health policy development and explores emerging directions for Universal Wellbeing research, policy, and practice. Participants will engage with key questions relating to wellbeing, prevention, measurement, implementation, and future policy development. Findings will contribute to ongoing discussions informing future public health policy and wellbeing frameworks.
CONFERENCE CLOSE
A reflection on key themes, research insights, partnerships, and prevention-focused opportunities identified throughout the conference.