Kapunda will host the 2025 National Small Town Reinvention Conference in September.
The conference, organised by the Bank of I.D.E.A.S., is designed to bring together local government, and community leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators to share ideas and strategies for breathing new energy, ideas and innovation into small towns committed to thriving futures.
Australia has 1,614 country towns with populations under 5,000, including 1,088 with fewer than 1,000 people.
Despite over 80% of these small towns facing stagnation or decline, they continue to serve as crucial hubs for agriculture, mining, and tourism, supporting a population of 1,131,600 and making their reinvention of national significance.
This event aims to inspire and empower communities to take charge of their own destinies and create sustainable, thriving futures.
This year’s conference is scheduled to take place from the 22nd to the 25th of September 2025, with the announcement made in Kapunda today as organisers and key stakeholders were briefed on the opportunities the conference offers the local region.
The theme for the 2025 conference is Prosperity through Connection, Collaboration and Community.
Member of Parliament Tony Piccolo MP successfully lobbied for Kapunda to host the event and said it’s a tremendous honour to be selected – not just for the town, but the whole region.
“This event will shine a spotlight on our community, showcasing our rich history and our commitment to innovation and growth,” said Mr Piccolo.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to learn from others based on their experiences, but also share our own successes."
The conference will bring together from across Australia some of the brightest minds and most passionate individuals dedicated to the future of small towns.
“It’s a chance for us to gain new insights, build valuable connections and explore innovative and sustainable solutions to the challenges we face,” said Mr Piccolo.
“The goal is to help small rural communities to build prosperous futures, by building on their strengths, harnessing the resilience of their communities, and by collaborating with likeminded neighbouring communities.”
The Inaugural National Small-Town Conference was held in Pickering Brook, a rural community in the Perth Hills, WA in 2024.
Founder and director of the Bank of I.D.E.A.S Peter Kenyon praised Mr Piccolo for his advocacy and congratulated the Kapunda community for their compelling case to be this year’s hosts.
Mr Kenyon said the event last year attracted 120 participants from over 60 small towns across Australia.
“Attendees left inspired and equipped with practical tools and strategies to apply in their own communities,” said Mr Kenyon.
“It was certainly a unique experience of sharing and learning from the amazing creativity that is occurring across small-town Australia, as rural communities instigate initiatives to respond to demographic and business decline.”
“The need for such an annual experience that highlights small-town innovation was a common theme of participant feedback.
“I am so excited that this event this year will occur in South Australia, especially in a region with a long history of innovation and community building passion.”
This year’s event promises to build on that success, offering even more opportunities for learning and collaboration.
Light Regional Council Mayor Bill O'Brien said this is a great initiative to further support small towns across our communities.
“I’ve seen first-hand how Peter has changed communities and changed their mindset by simply sharing success stories and ideas in a way that everyone can understand and visualise how they can do it within their own regions,” said Mayor O'Brien.
“We’re looking at things we can do as a community all together, and we’ve got a great network in our wider region to host and implement the ideas of this conference successfully with the Barossa, Clare Valley, Eudunda, Adelaide Plains and other regions.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for us and I’m thankful our Economic Development area of our Council who got behind this and put it to the Council…it didn’t take long for us to tick it off and Tony (Piccolo MP) of course as you don’t get a harder working MP and he’s been able to drive this to the level where this has become possible.”
For more information about the National Small Town Reinvention Conference and to stay updated on event details, visit bankofideas.com.au