The NFP conference season is getting into full swing this year and AusAE’s Conference & Exhibition (ACEACT16) is just around the corner.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by a large conference program like this. Luckily, I have taken a good hard look at the sessions this year and found the not-to-be-missed sessions you’d be a fool not to attend!
Association Reinvention Panel
Matthew Monaghan – Optometry Australia, Martin Thomas – Scouts Australia, Nerida Wallace – Law Institute of Victoria, Damian Mitsch – Australasian Podiatry Council & Shahana McKenzie – Australian Institute of Landscape Architects | 1:30 pm Tuesday, 24 May – Stream D
What would the face of Australian associations look like if we re-invented the idea of the association structure? How can we take a deeper look into leadership styles, the role of governance and the committment to meaningful strategy? Hosted by our very own Robert Barnes, this esteemed panel will look at case studies of home grown associations doing just that! Not to missed for CEOs and C-suite execs.
Can Your Workplace Culture Define Your Association Success
Andrew McCallum – Fitness Australia & Wendy McWilliam – Diabetes NSW | 11 am Wednesday, 25 May – Stream A
Andrew and Wendy are both former colleagues of mine from Fitness Australia, so you can trust me when I tell you they know what they are talking about! Living and breathing culture is something Fitness Australia (and at Aptify!) cultivate, but it takes hard work and committment. It also takes buy in from your board of directors to continue to make investments in your staff’s happiness in the workplace. So how better to convince your board than to point to the financial and organisational success directly correlated to your investment in culture? Andrew and Wendy speak from experience and practice, this is a not-to-be-missed session for anyone seeking a better workplace culture.
Live Event: Six Degrees of Association
Sara Gonzalez – Redback Conferencing, Robert Barnes – Aptify Australasia & Andrew McCallum – Fitness Australia | 1:45 pm Wednesday, 25 May – Stream A
If you are not already watching #6DA live every second Tuesday at 12:22 pm (AEDT), subscribe here! A combination of industry experience, association knowledge, and a good sense of humour allow the #6DA team to engage in some very interesting discussions, and they will be recording their latest webcast live at #ACEACT16.
Unconference: What Is It, What Does It Mean?
1:45 pm Wednesday 25 May – Stream B
The Unconference session is new to ACE this year. The program is purposely vague about what this session will entail, which just adds to the mystery—and, in turn, my curiosity. Typically an “Unconference” is a loose format highlighting delegate collaboration, effectively encouraging conference delegates to generate their own content.
I really like this idea of having event delegates create their own sessions based on the demand of the crowd (or in some cases, the loudest crowd member). Prepare for this mystery session by fleshing out your association’s burning questions. These sessions work best when solving or discussing what really keeps you up at night. Take the opportunity to crowd-source solutions to your association’s pain points.
I look forward to seeing you all at the ACE conference this year. You can find myself and my colleague Rob Barnes at the Aptify-sponsored Stream D. Reach out in the comments below and check out my other blog post Top Tricks to Conquer the ACE2016 Conference.
