An international symposium on Avian Influenza in St. John’s next month has added significance, making the capital city the first in Canada to host an event made possible through money provided by the International Convention Attraction Fund.

The fund provides Canadian cities with up to $1 million per event to attract major global conferences.

Experts from around the world will gather in the capital city June 24th to the 26th, and delegates will have the benefit of being close to some of the North Atlantic’s largest seabird colonies.

CEO of Destination St. John’s, Paul Buggé, calls it a great opportunity for the city and the province to showcase what it has to offer.

He says Newfoundland and Labrador is able to program the experience into the event. “They have the subject matter that they’re coming to study,” and “we can program it with incredible experiences with our beautiful parks, the outside, nature. We are a city on the edge of nature, so it allows that program for a conference to be so much more engaging and involved.”