ACFID Conference 2017 | 1 -2 November | Hawthorn Arts Centre
The Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) – the peak-body for Australian aid and development NGOs – is holding its annual conference on 1 – 2 November at the Hawthorn Arts Centre in Melbourne.
This year, we will explore how the Australian aid and development sector can better understand and drive change that is truly transformational, recognising that transformational change is not merely a goal – it is a way of working for a better world. The challenges facing the world today are not simple but exist within complex systems. Left unchecked, these systems perpetuate inequality, marginalisation, and environmental degradation.
To create change that is truly transformational, we need to ‘Engage’ in action and advocacy in solidary with grassroots social movements around the world. We need to ‘Create’ transformational organisations, exploring new opportunities and business models that will equip us to embrace the changes into the future. And we need to rethink our understanding of what it means to ‘Lead’, so that we can achieve more together than we ever could alone.
Conference Program
Join us on the evening of Tuesday 31 October at the Kilburn (348 Burwood Road, Hawthorn) for drinks, networking and a special announcement. This is open to all from the aid and development community – you won’t require passes to the conference to attend!
Registrations begin from 8.30am on Wednesday 1 November where you can pick up your conference pack with everything you need to know. ACFID will be holding its AGM bright and early on Wednesday and morning tea will then be served. This will be followed by the Welcome to Country and a welcome address. The formal program will commence with a keynote address on ‘Engage’. After lunch, Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells will address delegates. Panel sessions and master classes from members and specialists will take place in the afternoon, after which there will be a closing speech and wrap-up, before the conference gala dinner and ACFID award ceremony in the evening.
On day two (Thursday 2 November) following a prayer breakfast and health and well-being session, the Shadow Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, will open the day’s formal program. A plenary panel will then be held on the theme of ‘Create’ followed by member-led sessions and workshops. In the afternoon, the keynote address on the final theme – ‘Lead’ – will be held in the main hall followed by a series of concurrent sessions and a panel on the same theme. A closing address will cap 2017’s conference.
Please consult our program for the latest speakers and activities: https://conference.acfid.asn.au/program/
We will be keeping the program right up-to-date so you can plan your time at conference and stay tuned for our conference app!
