This is a copy of the 2017 President's report tabled at the Annual General Meeting of the IABC Canberra. It’s been a busy year for IABC Canberra. Professional development We ran a full events calendar which included: Feb-17 IABC Welcome Back Drinks A great start to the year with 40 or so communicators meeting in the beautiful Australian National Botanical Gardens to connect, converse and hear about the gig-economy from Commtract Apr-17 Engaging with Government – perspective..... Read more »

Looking back over the year, I’m amazed at the richness of professional development that I took advantage of with IABC. My year included: IABC Leadership Institute, Dallas [February] – three days of inspiration, leadership development and insights into how to make IABC a better community for you. IABC Canberra: Engaging with government, perspectives from both sides of the fence [April]. Simon Westaway, CEO of the Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council, related experiences and learnin..... Read more »

IABC Canberra is seeking passionate, experienced communicators to join its Board for 2018. Being on the Board is a great opportunity to build your professional skills and networks, and help shape the communication profession in the nation’s capital. IABC Canberra is Canberra’s leading professional association. We have been operating for over 10 years, offering a series of professional development events and networking opportunities for communicators. We have around 100 members, and sta..... Read more »

“Everybody’s talkin’ at me…” so goes the tune by Nilsson, a potent message that echoes the points raised by Professor Jim Macnamara at our recent event in Canberra. Jim’s talk was timed perfectly as it was also the International Day of Listening, setting the scene for what was a topic that tends to fall on deaf ears. Jim argued the failure to listen and engage with the public, has contributed to a “democratic deficit”, the breakdown of public trust in Governments, public insti..... Read more »

Shawn Callahan works around the world helping leaders find and tell their stories so their message is clear and memorable. As author of Putting Stories to Work and one of the world’s leading business storytelling consultant, Shawn was recently in town to share his tips at a lunch seminar for our Canberra communication community. He let us in on a troubling and dirty little secret of the business world: between 80 and 95 percent of employees don’t know or understand the organisational stra..... Read more »

We asked IABC Canberra President, Victor Zalakos, to explain why he decided to pursue certification and to describe the process. I sat for the Strategic Communication Management Professional certification at the IABC world conference in Washington DC in June this year and am proud to be one of thirteen communicators worldwide (and the first one in Australia) to hold this prestigious certification. I chose to apply for a number of reasons. I wanted to see if I rated on the world stage. And ..... Read more »

I was preparing for a presentation recently, and saw a connection between the skills required by today's communication professionals (to develop strategies for a social audience) and David Bowie. Sounds like a bit of an oddity (pardon the terrible pun), but there is a link here. A GIF produced by artist Helen Green in celebration of David Bowie’s 68th birthday became one of the most shared pieces on social media following his passing. Titled Time may change me, this to me is a perf..... Read more »

IABC Asia-Pacific Regional Conference Singapore, 23-25 August 2017 The theme for our conference is Fusion: Connecting Communicators. Our goal is to connect communicators across the APAC region and the world to inspire, foster best practice, and promote leadership in the communications profession. The Conference will feature two days of inspiring and relevant keynotes and best-practice sessions. A Leadership Institute on 23 August (for IABC members) and a Gala Dinner on 24 August a..... Read more »

IABC World Conference Washington DC, 11-14 June 2017    With the theme Global Business: Lead Communication—Make Real Impact, the World Conference is an opportunity to elevate your career, to highlight the global rise of communication as a business-crucial part of the organisation, and to build some amazing connections. Like Canberra, Washington D.C. has been challenged to grow beyond its government roots to become a strong and growing hub for innovation. This makes it a perfect learn..... Read more »

It’s starting to get cold in Canberra, the leaves are turning and in many cases have dropped. The days are largely beautiful. Clear, sunny and bright. A fitting backdrop for the visit of the UKs head communicator. Alex Aiken’s visit brought a sense of purpose and of importance to our profession. His rallying cry for boldness, leadership and bravery in communication practice was well received. Aiken believes that government communicators should be out in the market place, meeting people an..... Read more »