PLANS for a statewide conference, to be held in the Whitsundays, are progressing well.
The Bowen and Whitsunday Neighbourhood Centres have brought the conference to the region, and it will be the first Social Enterprise Conference ever held in the Whitsundays.
The two-day conference will be held in both Bowen and Cannonvale, from Wednesday, May 22 to Friday, May 24, 2024.
The Whitsunday Neighbourhood Centre’s Rebecca Woods and Bowen Neighbourhood centres’ Stephanie Cora have been pushing to bring professional development opportunities for the community services sector to North Queensland, for some time.
Ms Woods said plans were ‘well underway’.
“We have had 70 registrations in total with representatives from Whitsunday Regional Council, Mackay Regional Council and officers from the Department of Treaty for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities and Arts, amongst neighbourhood and community centre coordinators and CEOs,” Ms Woods said.
“There will be eight key speakers over two days, one in Cannonvale (at Mantra Club Croc) and one in Bowen (at the Flagstaff Hill Conference and Event Centre).
“The Whitsunday Neighbourhood Centre and Bowen Neighbourhood Centre aim to showcase the Whitsundays and invest the proceeds back into their communities.
“We have achieved this by sourcing from local suppliers and services, as well as showcasing both Bowen and Cannonvale to the delegates with the two-day format.”
Ms Woods and Ms Cora launched the Queensland Social Enterprise Conference: ‘The Business of Neighbourhood Centres’ to industry leaders during their keynote address, in 2023.
Conference attendees will gather to learn Social Enterprise business models, that enhance organisational capacity and resilience.
“We wanted more professional development opportunities closer to home and we thought, why not host an event ourselves,” Ms Woods said.
“We are stepping into new territory [delivering a conference] but we are excited to show our peers what we can achieve.”
Whitsunday Neighbourhood Centre will host the Cannonvale event, with attendees bused to Flagstaff Hill, where the Bowen Neighbourhood Centre will host the event.
