It was a memorable time attending the Asia-Pacific conference 2013 with the theme ‘Get Connected’.
The conference registration took place on the 7th from 12:00 till 16:00. Then a welcome to Adelaide BBQ held from 16:00 till 18:00. The official opening featured Lewis O’Brien, Professor Joanne Wright, Lieutenant Governor Hieu Van Le and Brad Rainey.
After the opening ceremony, the delegates embarked on an Amazing race which helped them to get acquainted with the Adelaide CBD.
The opening keynote was the inspirational Sam Cawthorn. He highlighted the important role of positive thinking and bouncing forward. According to Sam, “it is not your condition but you decision that determines who you are”.
On the second day the focus was on professional development and the participation of many companies and partner organisations provided a very valuable day for delegates through workshops, an Expo, a keynote from Curtis Walter (Interview of Stature) and a Careers Panel.
In the afternoon a more altruistic topic of community service showed delegates the importance of continuing their GK community service initiatives. Graham Jaeschke, General Manager South Australia for the Smith Family, gave a great insight into their programs and impact.
On Saturday Rachael Robertson talked about her amazing experience leading a 12 month Antarctic expedition. And later journalist George Negus summarized the biggest global changes of the last 25 years before leading a panel on the topic of ‘Affluenza’.
The Conference ended with a fun night at the National Wine Centre where delegates dressed for the theme of colour-blocking.
During the dinner, I performed an extraordinary poem titled: Now that you have been connected”. I wrote this poem for the event.
Overall, I had a great time meeting new people and learning new things.
Truly I have been connected.
