Conference Highlights

Below is a list of featured highlights at this year's conference to give delegates more detail about what to expect from the program. More items will be added as information is confirmed.

Unlocking the Power of Community

Pre-conference Workshop Presented by Tony Armstrong
Monday 26 August 2019 (1:00pm - 4:30pm)

Join Tony Armstrong from Locality in the UK as he shares his perspective on supporting communities in England to reach their potential and play a leading role in their local area. Locality’s membership of 650 community organisations in England are important local organisations which provide services and spaces for people to come together, but also play a crucial role in local economies and collecting own over £800 million of assets- so that they have an economic stake in their neighbourhood as well as supporting social cohesion.

Tony will share Locality’s work on supporting community economic development, helping communities take on the ownership and management of local buildings and assets of community value, and building up the capability of people to play a more direct part in local decision making. He will also give an overview of the successes and failures of recent UK Government policy as it affects local communities.

Note: There is no extra cost to attend this workshop for delegates, however you need to select this option when completing the online conference registration form so we know numbers.

LCSA Annual General Meeting

Monday 26 August 2019 (5:30pm - 6:15pm)

Ryan Park MP (ALP)

The 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Local Community Services Association (LCSA) will be held on Monday afternoon at our conference venue, Novotel Wollongong Northbeach.

All delegates of member and associate member organisations, together with life members and individual members and guests are invited to attend, where current LCSA Board Members and Staff will present their reports and elections for positions will be held.

Hear about the great work that LCSA has accomplished over the past year, learn about the latest strategic plans the organisations has for the future and be inspired by our guest speaker Ryan Park MP, State Member for Keira and Shadow Minister for Health, Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness, and Shadow Minister for the Illawarra and South Coast.

The AGM will be followed immediately by our Conference Opening Reception.

Note:  Make sure you select LCSA AGM for the Program Options when completing your online conference registration if you plan to attend this meeting.

Opening Keynote Address

Tuesday 27 August 2019 (9:30am - 10:10am)

The Hon. Gareth Ward MP (LP)

Don't miss our conference Opening Keynote Address from The Hon. Gareth Ward MP - Gareth Ward is the local member for Kiama and was sworn in as the new Minister for Disability Services and Minister for Family and Community Services on 2nd of April 2019.

Born with Oculocutaneous Albinism, Gareth has been legally blind since birth and is the first person in NSW with a disability to become Minister for Disability Services.

Growing up in the Illawarra, Gareth attended local schools at Nowra East Public School, Bomaderry Primary School and Bomaderry High School. Gareth attended the University of Wollongong and holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Arts, Commerce and Law. Following his undergraduate studies, Gareth went on to complete the Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice.

As Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services, Gareth is responsible for a broad range of the state’s social policy and human services including children in care, homelessness, juvenile justice, disability services and volunteering. Whilst these are some of the most challenging areas of Government, Gareth sees these as the most important.

Presentation & Group Discussion: Respect and Resilience – Connecting Communities to Reduce Dysfunctional Customer Behaviour

Tuesday 27 August 2019 (12noon - 1:00pm)

Join Andrew and Samantha's presentation of research into the causes and strategies that reduce customer dysfunctional behaviour, and opportunities to work through ‘how might we influence community attitudes’

Session Outline:

• What is dysfunctional Behaviour?
• What are the strategies that reduce dysfunctional behaviour?
• Opportunities to explore ‘How might we influence community attitudes to improve customer behaviour?'

Insurance and Care NSW (icare) is the state’s social insurer, protecting, insuring and caring for the people, businesses and assets of NSW. icare protects 3.6 million workers, and 300,000 employers, government assets, whilst also providing care services for people severely injured at work or on the road, and people affected by work related dust diseases. icare also protect homebuilders protecting $17 billion worth of projects.

icare’s Community Engagement Team is supporting icare’s vision to change the way people think about insurance and care through a range of partnerships, community projects, research and appreciative enquiry. Andrew Ellery (icare) and Sam Ferguson (Griffith Uni) will be sharing their work on the impact of aggression at work and workshop how this affects communities.

We will also workshop strategies to support workers and their families in the community.

Andrew and Sam will also be codesigning community strategies in a breakout session following this plenary presentation. This work will support LCSA’s ‘local communities leading change’ by helping communities to better understand the social impact of aggression in the workplace with participants supporting the development of a Community-led change strategy.

Conference Dinner and Entertainment

Tuesday 27 August 2019 (6:30pm - 10:00pm)

Sako Dermenjian

A casual sit-down conference dinner will be held in the Illawarra Room (plenary space) or out on the deck if it’s a lovely night. This is a chance for everyone to socialise and ‘work the room’, talk to friends or make new friends in a relaxed atmosphere.

Dinner will consist of shared platters at the table:

• Entrée: Antipasto grazing platters
• Main: Chef’s selection of 2 x meat dishes & 1 x vegetarian dish served with steamed vegetables and baked chat potatoes
• Dessert: Chef’s selection dessert grazing platters
• Drinks: 2 bottles of wine per table with a cash bar thereafter.

Local artist, Sako Dermenjian, will provide us with some great live music so everyone can wind down from a day of learning and discussion, enjoy each other’s company and bond over drinks and laughter. Sako is an Armenian classical guitarist, born and raised in Syria, now based in Australia - visit his website to learn more and preview his music.

Join in this fun event for $40 + GST. Great Value!!!

Note: Make sure you add this item to your Program Options during registration.