The Australasian Facilitators Network (AFN) Conference organisers are delighted to announce the theme of the conference“Facilitating Wholeness” and the dates, 5th – 6th November, 2015. The conference will be held in the beautiful and vital Byron Bay area. For all facilitators it will be an exciting learning and networking experience, as well as a chance to explore the best of the Byron Bay Shire and connect with the local Bundjalong people.
Anyone who has attended a previous AFN conference will have experienced a deeply supportive community of facilitators who willingly demonstrate and share their knowledge, capabilities and experience. This enables profound learning opportunities for members and others attending the conference workshop and to make powerful connections with other facilitators. AFN conferences also invite members to offer to facilitate a relevant workshop.
Conference Intentions
- To create a conference that enables magnificent experience of learning and connecting with others.
- To bring together the AFN network
- To infuse the conference with the uniqueness of the Ballina-Byron environment- uniqueness of the land and the peoples who live here, past and present.
Conference Theme
“Facilitating Wholeness”Proposed Workshop themes
- Whole-self – preparing self, managing self, self awareness and vulnerability in facilitation, boundaries.
- Whole as context – agreements and boundaries, physical space and building community.
- Making whole – inspiration, passion, energy, healing and creativity, harnessing diversity
Important dates : Conference dates:Thursday 5 and Friday 6 November
Pre-conference workshops:
Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 NovemberConference dinner:
Thursday evening Thursday 5 November
Venue
Ballina Beach Village. To get a feeling for this wonderful place, please visit Ballina Beach Village. The village has outdoor and indoor workshop spaces, open areas, various on-site accommodation options, dining areas. The venue also has forest and wilderness areas as well as a sweat lodge, swimming pool and surfing beach.Exclusive Use
Exclusive use of the whole property on reaching 75 attendees has been negotiated. So it helps everyone if you book early. Booking early will also give you a wider choice of accommodation. Watch for the forthcoming blog how to register and book accommodation.
Early Bird Registration Fees for conference only:$300 organisational, payment by employer or organisation
$200 professional, payment by attendee
$100 concessional, full time students, retirees, disadvantaged $ 50 scholarship holdersScholarships
It is expected that up to 10 scholarships will be available by application. Scholarships will cover 2 days meals and modest accommodation.
Accommodation
A range of on site accommodation options from camping to deluxe cabins are available. These can be booked with the village office and paid for separately. A website and website based based bulletin board are being built. This will enable you to arrange sharing accommodation and transport to and from the site. We have negotiated 4 nights for the price of 3 for those wanting to attend the pre-conference workshops or to stay a little longer.
Meals
You may purchase a special conference package of $75 per day daily for 3 meals including the conference dinner. Otherwise you may purchase individual meals off the menu. Meals cater for vegetarian, gluten fee, dairy free etc. Coffee tea included are included in conference registration fee.
Other conference activities
Creative arts are likely to accompany the program such as dancing, singing, meditation, yoga, aikido.
A ceremonial tree planting ceremony with the local AFN and Bundjalong elders is being arranged to neutralise the negative impact of travel and from the conference.
Other local activities
There are many activities in the region. It attracts over 1 million visitors annually who come to festivals, the magnificent beaches and hinterland, diverse tourism opportunities. November will be whale watching season.On behalf of the organising group, Erin Evans, David Jago, Carol Vale and Peter Wallman
By Akasadaka Robison
