New Zealand SharePoint User Group Update and ISPA
Been a while since I made a post about how our local SharePoint Community was shaping out. Over the last few years the community has grown from strength to strength. A testament to this is the new SharePoint User Group which will be inaugurated on February 12th 2009 in Napier, Hawkes Bay in the North Island. Now that’s 4 SharePoint specific user groups alone in the North Island with Hawkes Bay joining the well established Wellington, Bay of Plenty and Auckland User Groups.
So I am off to visit and speak at the inaugural [Napier, Hawkes Bay](https://maps.live.com/?v=2&where1=Napier, New Zealand&encType=1) event on 12th February 2009 and please do come and say hello if you are in that part of the country and is a SharePoint enthusiast/developer or has a knack to know what the heck SharePoint is. Many thanks to Gerard from the .Net User group for organising this event.
I will do an introductory session about SharePoint and cover some of the important aspects of planning and architecture for SharePoint.
In Christchurch we have got Gary Payne and Matt Smith doing a great job keeping the local SharePoint events going. While Matt is away on his “spiritual” journey Gary is taking a front seat in organising the events for the next few months. (Will let Matt explain where he’s going)
In Auckland Tamlyn has been doing a stellar job of resurrecting the user group with the help of Steve Letford of MSFT. They have been having regular events for a while. So good work Tamlyn! (get a blog!)
Some of you may have heard of “ISPA” which is a community initiative launched last year. ISPA or International SharePoint Professionals Association is the first independent, community-run, not-for-profit organization designed specifically for SharePoint Professionals. ISPA is a professional association dedicated to the promotion and global adoption of Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies. The Association provides support and guidance to the community by establishing connections between SharePoint professionals and groups, resources, education and information.
Locally in New Zealand we have support of ISPA through the .Net User Group Incorporated Society. One thing also to note is that Debbie Ireland who is the current .Net UG society president is also a SharePoint MVP. She has been hosting and organising the Bay of Plenty user group for quite some time. She is also conducting a 2 day SharePoint Planning and Governance course in February 2009 in Wellington, New Zealand.
](https://www.mssharepointconference.com/)
Yes, the premier event where you would be able to see the new version of SharePoint and what’s planned is being held in Las Vegas! (Did I say Vegas). SharePoint + Las Vegas? Do I need to say more. At the moment there is a special for early registrations. The first 500 will get US$300 off the standard price. So if you are a hardcore SharePoint follower then this is the place to be if you ever wanted an excuse to visit a conference this is it. You get to learn and experience the latest and greatest in the SharePoint world.
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