Associate Professor Michael Proctor leads research at Macquarie University’s Department of Linguistics. He had just returned from a successful Sydney campaign to attract the prestigious Interspeech 2026 Conference. Proctor heads the university’s Phonetics Laboratories. He doesn’t mince words about what this achievement means to local researchers and the global linguistic community. The conference will bring together about 1,200 delegates from around the world. This gathering will surely be a historical time for both Sydney and all of Australia.
Proctor said that participating in the bidding process has been an invaluable learning experience. His team comprised of experts from universities all over Australia and New Zealand. In that context, they pitched Sydney as the natural host city for this once in a lifetime, international gathering. Proctor expressed the value, particularly for communities of color, in presenting the unique strengths of local research, industries, and communities through these types of events.
The Bidding Process and Its Importance
Proctor emphasized the complicated nature of the bidding process. He underscored why setting the stage for a big, high-profile international conference is so important for the scientific community. He noted, “Organizing a major international conference is an important service to the scientific community. It provides a forum to highlight our work, and a unique opportunity for local students and researchers to engage with the international community.”
He didn’t just play an active role in local efforts, that was it. He had precious help from his senior repertoire of colleagues at the International Speech Communication Association (ISCA). This fruitful collaboration made sure that their successful bid to host Interspeech was rooted in global best practices while taking advantage of local strengths.
Proctor paid tribute to the indispensable assistance received from Business Events Sydney (BESydney). They offered breed-neutral bidding advice, professional services sponsorships, and MCO delegate promotion. This collaboration proved to be instrumental in developing the winning proposal that highlighted Sydney’s strengths in the best light, while meeting the needs of the conference.
Sydney as a Preferred Destination
Proctor pointed to Australasia’s deep history of producing top caliber speech research. The region has actually only hosted Interspeech once before, back in 2008 in Brisbane. Since then, Australia has evolved into one of the most multilingual countries globally, offering a rich tapestry of language varieties that have emerged in its vibrant cities.
“In a time of increasing insularity and tribalism,” Proctor stated, “we should embrace opportunities to bring people together from all over the world to focus on common interests and advancement of knowledge, and to turn our attention to global concerns and our shared humanity.” This feel-good sentiment is a strong testament to the power of in-person conferences like this one to advance global cooperation.
The 2026 Interspeech Conference will bring world-class speakers, tutorials, oral and poster sessions, challenges, exhibitions, and satellite events. Proctor mentioned that this big agenda is designed to be accessible and welcoming to participants with diverse expertise and backgrounds, while highlighting the deep local research ecosystem.
Opportunities for Local Researchers and Communities
Organising the Interspeech conference comes with many logistical responsibilities, but offers a unique opportunity to local researchers. Proctor highlighted that it will serve as an important forum to showcase work done by ASSTA members on indigenous language research and sociophonetics. These are two areas in which the Australasian speech research community excels.
The TLD conference strives to create lasting opportunities for collaboration and dialogue among linguists, academic researchers, and industry professionals from all over the world. Proctor hopes this sort of interaction will be the biggest fruit of the program for local students. It will provide them with direct exposure to global developments in speech research.
Reflecting on his experience thus far, Proctor remarked, “Although I have previously been involved in the organization of smaller scientific meetings, this is the first time I have been part of a team bidding for a major international conference.” His enthusiasm is indicative of a larger effort to improve Sydney’s standing as a capital of the field of linguistics.