Europe’s largest geography conference comes to the North East in 2022

The North East will host the Royal Geographical Society Annual International Conference in 2022, drawing geographers from all around the world.

The RGS-IBG conference will be held at Newcastle University between August 30 and September 2 in 2022.

Europe’s largest geography conference normally attracts more than 2000 attendees, with a third of those coming from outside the UK.

The conference promotes the importance of international collaboration in geography within research, teaching and field science, and the value of sharing ideas and perspectives widely.

Dr Sarah Evans, research and collections engagement manager at the Royal Geographical Society, said: “Our annual international conference brings together researchers from around the world to share their research and network with colleagues.

“Over three days of keynote lectures, presentations, workshops, discussions and more, geographers and those working in related disciplines, come together to discuss the pressing issues of our time.

“Having postponed our planned 2020 conference to 2021 in London, we are really delighted to be bringing the annual conference to Newcastle in 2022.

“We know both the university and the city will be welcoming hosts, and we are keen for our delegates to see all that Newcastle has to offer.

“We’ll also be working with the team at Newcastle to facilitate virtual and remote participation from colleagues who can’t join us in person.”

The conference will be based on Newcastle University’s main campus with multiple breakout rooms being used for smaller sessions over the three days.

Dr Stuart Dawley, head of geography at Newcastle University, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Royal Geographical Society’s Annual International Conference to the city in 2022.

“Recognised as the largest annual academic geography conference in Europe, with over 2,000 delegates from 60 countries, we are naturally very excited to host this prestigious event at Newcastle University.

“The event promises to be one of the largest conferences ever held at the university.”

The RGS-IBG conference chose NewcastleGateshead as host for 2022 after a joint bid from Newcastle University and NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau.

Paul Szomoru, director of business events at NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau, added: “Newcastle University is renowned for its strengths in geographical research and teaching, making it a fitting venue for the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2022.

“It’s reassuring to see that international associations are still planning for the future – there is definitely a desire to meet when it is safe to do so, and they still very much see the importance of human interaction to best facilitate collaborative and collective learning.”