Economist Shamubeel Eaqub will be in Whanganui next week to join Intelligent Community Forum co-founder John Jung in discussing the city's digital future.
Mr Eaqub will talk with Mr Jung at a public event on April 26 about how building a strong digital community can address provincial decline.
Mr Jung's visit follows Whanganui being recognised as a Top7 Intelligent Community for 2016 by the forum and while here he will visit some of the businesses and organisations which were included in the city's application.
"The reason for Mr Jung's visit is for him to see the information we provided in our Top7 application come to life," Chair of the Whanganui Digital Leaders Forum Mayor Annette Main said.
"We will show him a diverse range of businesses and organisations who have a digital focus and whose work will help our district thrive into the future. Mr Jung will be able to see how far we have come on our digital journey and we are really excited to have him here."