Media Advisory
Volunteering into the future the focus on national conference
The opportunities and challenges for volunteering in New Zealand over the next quarter century will be the focus of the conference “Optimising the Energy of Volunteering” being hosted by Volunteering New Zealand at Te Papa, Wellington on 8 and 9 November 2007.
It will be only the second national volunteering conference held in New Zealand, the first being in 2002.
The purpose of the conference is to explore ways of
optimising the energy of volunteering by:
• Maximising
the potential of volunteering as an integral part of New
Zealand society
• Developing strategies on how
volunteering in New Zealand can optimise the opportunities
arising from the issues and trends confronting volunteering
– changing demographics and motivations, increasing
cultural diversity, new ways of volunteering
etc
• Exploring the different costs and needs of
volunteering and the impact these could have on the
development of volunteer services
Over 120 people will attend the conference and will include representatives of voluntary organisations from many different sectors, businesses, local and central government and education bodies.
A copy of the programme plus detail of the keynote speakers accompanies this Media Advisory. The conference will be opened by Hon Luamanuvao Winnie Laban as part of the welcoming Powhiri.
The keynote speakers include Greg Brownless, philanthropist and volunteer, Nick Jones, a specialist in the development of corporate social responsibility, Rev Maurice Gray, the Maori member of the Volunteering NZ Board, Rod Oram and two visiting speakers from Australia, Kylee Bates and Martin J Cowling.
The plenary sessions will all be open for reporting by the news media and this may also be possible for some of the break out sessions. You are therefore invited to have a reporter attend and cover the conference.
For more information about the conference and to let us know if someone will be attending please contact me by phone or email as detailed below.
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