What does the organiser of a local growers market in regional Australia have in common with the production manager of the AFL Grand Final?
Both are involved in the planning, management and delivery of events, and can compete for a 2009 Australian Event Award to be nationally recognised for their achievements.
With entries now open, the Australian Event Awards is the only opportunity for Australian events, event organisers, products and service providers to be acknowledged across the entire national events industry regardless of event type, size or association membership.
“Australia boasts an incredible scale of event expertise and there is a need to spell out the achievements of our thriving events industry to the wider community,” said John Allen, Foundation Director of the Australian Centre for Event Management.
“From events like Melbourne Cup and the Adelaide Fringe Festival, to the Bridge to Brisbane fun-run, the Australian Event Awards will see events of every size and budget compete on a level playing field.”
“This month around Australia we have seen innovative large-scale public festivals such as Vivid Sydney, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and the QLD Dreaming Festival showcasing Australia’s talent to the world. At the same time regional sporting or community events are achieving similar standards of creativity and innovation.”
The Australian Event Awards is all-inclusive, rewarding achievements in all sectors of the industry, encompassing business, cultural, sporting and community events, as well as achievements in sustainability and Australian excellence in event exports.
“A structured, national awards program has a number of benefits for the whole industry, not just those who win it. Awards are a very visible and clear way of asserting there is an identity to the sector, and present opportunities for the industry to work together and make strategic global connections,” said Sandy Hollway, formerly CEO of the Sydney Organising Committee for the 2000 Olympic Games.
“Obviously different segments of the events industry have their various organisations, conferences and opportunities to learn from one another and compare notes. But there are a lot of silos and I have the impression that the whole industry might do better if we could make linkages – for example between venue management and event operations, or between sports event management and arts event management.”
“The Australian Event Awards is an overarching awards program to generate a sense of coherence across the entire events industry. It is imperative we start to acknowledge and reward excellence in all aspects of the industry, from the major events to the smaller, community events.”
Sandy Hollway and John Allen will co-chair an independent Industry Judging Panel of event experts and industry leaders from all over Australia and all sectors of the event industry. Judges confirmed to date include David Churches, CEO of Major Event Planning, John Moore, Managing Director of Global Brands Group Australasia and Steve Brown, Visible Event Management.
Bill Spurr, former CEO of South Australian Tourism Commission and Prof Don Getz, Distinguished Fellow in the International Academy for the Study of Tourism, have also joined the first round of judges announced this week, and will be judging the Best Tourism Event category.
Award entries opened this week, at the low entry cost of $220 and with discounts applying to some categories. The entry process is simple and hosted online with capacity for entrants to save and edit their submission as many times as desired.
The Australian Event Awards will culminate in the 2009 Events Industry Night of Nights to be held in the Ballroom of the Westin Hotel, Sydney on Thursday 8 October 2009. This will be an opportunity for event managers and suppliers from all over Australia to network with the ‘who’s who’ of the industry including sponsors, government and industry leaders.
The 2009 Australian Event Awards is the national awards program to reward innovation, recognise excellence and unite the entire Australian Events Industry. Entries are open to any event staged between 1 July 2008 and 30 June 2009.
For more information, visit Australian Centre for Event Management
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