The NSW State Conference was held on 17 and 18 August in Port Macquarie. The event was a huge success, with 200 people in attendance across the two days. Of the numerous highlights across the program, the stand outs included our keynote speakers and best paper presentation.
Keynote speaker Dr Anika Molesworth, Agroecologist and Farmer, inspired our Young Water Professionals on how sharing stories are a vital part of leadership. Anika encouraged the delegates to be courageous in the face of uncertainty, and think about how they can use their wisdom and skills to make a change.
On day two, delegates heard from Australia’s first astronaut, Paul Scully-Power, as he discussed the future of aerospace water analysis in the biggest technology revolution since the introduction of electricity.
The Best Paper of the conference, sponsored by the University of Queensland, was awarded to Nirmal Joy and Rachael Abberton from the MidCoast Council, for their paper From Drought Response to Water Resilience: A Journey of Mindset Shift.
The judges found Nirmal and Rachael’s personal resilience stories engaging, and their exploration of how MidCoast Council is looking at water resilience through community and culture, internal to Council as well as externally with their community, refreshing and innovative.
The abstract can be found here. Nirmal and Rachael have been invited to speak at the 2023 North Queensland Conference.
Thank you to our Conference Sponsors:
- Principal Sponsors: BECA Hunter H2O, Water NSW, EIRE
- Major Sponsor: KSB
- Conference Supporters: Veolia
- Conference Partner: Balmoral Group
- YWP Breakfast Partner: Atom Consulting
- Best Paper Sponsor: The University of Queensland
- Networking Sponsor: Tonkin
- Strategic Sponsor: Destination NSW
Photos from the two days can be found here.
by Water Source
