ITiCSE, Australia, and New Zealand: What's the Story?

Since 1996 the ITiCSE conference has provided a forum for academics with an interest in computing education scholarship and research. ITiCSE is often thought of as the European counterpart to northern America's SIGCSE Technical Symposium. Yet from its very beginning, ITiCSE has differed substantially from the Symposium. In addition to the many participants from Europe and North America, ITiCSE has also always hosted many participants from Australia and New Zealand, expanding its international perspective. Why is this? What is the appeal of ITiCSE to its participants, and what do its participants bring to ITiCSE? More specifically, what do Australians and New Zealanders bring to and take from the conference? Are there opportunities to involve computing educators from other regions? Judy Sheard and Simon will explore these questions and provide their perspectives. In this 25th year of ITiCSE, they will also speculate about the future of the conference and of the future role of Australia and New Zealand -- especially in light of the disruption in 2020.