Diversity and Financial Aid Fund
OWASP New Zealand Day 2025
Applications for support through our Diversity and Financial Fund will open on 1st July, and will be accepted on a continuing basis, until 22 August (or sooner, if funds are exhausted).
Each year, we have some funding available to help people from around New Zealand attend the OWASP New Zealand Day conference, who would otherwise find it hard to attend. In particular, we welcome applications from women, people of colour, LGBTQ2IA, Pacific Island indigenous peoples, and all others. You all deserve to be able to learn more about security, and we’ll do our best to help make that happen!
For participants from within New Zealand, support provided by the fund can include waiver of the conference registration fee, waiver of Pre-Conference Training registration fees, return airfare to Auckland, an allowance for accommodations in Auckland, and an allowance for taxi/Uber/bus fares to/from the airports. Meals and incidentals (including conference t-shirts) are at your own expense.
If funds are available, support may be extended to a limited number of applicants from outside New Zealand. For such applicants, support provided by the Diversity Fund would be limited to fee waiver(s), and allowances for accommodations and taxi/Uber/bus fares in Auckland (i.e., no assistance will be offered for travel from outside New Zealand).
A limited number of fee waivers is available for each Pre-Conference Training class. On the application, you can indicate if you’d like to be considered for a training fee waiver, and provide your class preferences. If selected to receive a fee waiver for classroom training, your award may include accommodation for the training day(s), as well.
Our funds are limited, and we’ll be reviewing applications every week, starting in July. Submit your application soon, so we can approve them promptly, and you’ll be in several review cycles!
Process for Applying for Diversity Fund Support
- Fill out our Application Form, on or after 1st Juy.
- We will review and approve applications approximately every fortnight.
- We will contact all applicants and let them know the results of the review.
- Successful applicants are responsible for booking their own travel and accommodations.
- Diversity Fund travel support is provided as a reimbursement, after the conference, of actual expenses incurred - up to the specified allowance for each item.
We use the following criteria to help us decide who gets approved:
- We are biased towards (but not exclusively for) diverse applicants.
- We do attempt to maximise cost efficiency and will aim to get as many people to the event as possible, with our limited funds.
Applicants’ and funding recipients’ identities will not be disclosed to anyone outside the Diversity Fund committee (including the AppSec NZ Treasurer, who will process reimbursements).
If you have any questions, feel free to drop us an email.