Technogym Australia
Technogym is the leading company in the Wellness and Fitness field all over the world. With 2,200 employees, 14 branches in Europe, U.S., South America, Asia and Australia, Technogym exports its…
read moreA record attendance of more than 150 people engaged with the annual Australian Festival Industry Conference (AFIC) at Luna Park Sydney on 30th and 31st August.
The third edition of the only conference in Australia dedicated exclusively to servicing the thousands of festival industry professionals that produce quality music, arts and culture, food and drink, and sporting festivals, the event drew delegates from across Australia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
Delegates represented a range of private and not-for-profit festival organisers, as well as all tiers of Government, consultancy service providers, educational institutions and operational suppliers.
Over two full days, AFIC included:
Advising that she couldn’t have asked for a better result, founder and Event Director, Carlina Ericson stated “the feedback throughout the conference was overwhelmingly positive and I was inundated with people expressing what a wonderful event it was and the abundance of networking opportunities AFIC provided.”
AFIC’s program of speakers were some of the country’s top festival management personnel who discussed timely topics such as sustainability, accessibility, advances in crowd science and much more.
This year’s keynote speakers were Rhoda Roberts AO, Creative Director, Parrtjima Festival and First Nations Advisor at AGB Events who drew on her 25 year career in indigenous festival production, providing expert guidance on how delegates can go about co-designing their festivals with first nations peoples.
A second keynote was delivered by AGB Events, Chief Executive and Creative Director, Anthony Bastic AM, who explained his experience of co-founding VIVID Sydney and Parrtjima Festival to discuss how festivals can take a fresh look at their open spaces and design their festival sites and content to maximise inclusivity.
Delegates were also treated to a special update by NSW Minister for the Arts, Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy and Minister for Jobs and Tourism, John Graham who talked about the recent challenges the festival and live entertainment industry has faced, particularly since the introduction of the 2019 Music Festival Act, and what the NSW Government’s plans are moving forward to help the industry continue to recover, post-pandemic.
Panel discussions covered the topics of ‘sustainability’, ‘accessibility’ and a general Q&A with three long-time industry experts: Roberts; Shannon Green, Senior Business Development Manager of Sydney Showground and Lisa Dowsett, Head of Events & Partnerships for Northern Beaches Council.
Other AFIC 2023 speakers included:
To be kept informed of future event updates, visit www.australianfestivalconference.com.au
Images: The sustainability panel at AFIC (top), Rhoda Roberts addresses AFIC (middle) and Greg Donovan speaks at Luna Park Sydney (below).
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