My 18 year old daughter embarked on a big international adventure last month. First stop San Francisco. The farewell was a mix of sadness, joy, envy and pride that someone so young was about to take on the world. An 18 year old international traveller has more in common with an Association Professional than you might think. First and foremost is the real sense of purpose. A burning desire to experience the world. A commitment to also volunteer and help others – facilitated through a range of pre-organised placements. With that purpose came detailed planning to ensure a successful trip. Previous hard work and disciplined saving contributed to a build-up of cash reserves. Sponsors (family) provided valuable underpinning support. To maximise the experience, networking with fellow colleagues and travellers will be important. Learning along the way and risk awareness are both essential. Looking for, and grasping, opportunities en-route (and a dose of good luck) will certainly help. The wide-eyed wonder and enthusiasm of an 18 year old traveller compelled me to focus on my purpose (community focused outcomes) and that of AuSAE (career success for Association Professionals). What is your purpose and how can AuSAE assist you to achieve that? Let us know, we would love to hear from you!

Young football supporters can now become virtual list managers with a new competition allowing students to leverage their maths and analytical skills to choose the ultimate 2017 Collingwood squad while staying beneath the AFL salary cap.

The Collingwood Football Club, in collaboration with the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT), have launched a dynamic new national maths competition called the STEM Cup.

The STEM Cup competition will allow students to assume the role of the Capologist, where they are challenged to build the best team at the best price. Guided by Collingwood National Recruiting Assistant and LifeJourney mentor Dominic Milesi, students will compete to become the nation’s top capologist.

"Collingwood is delighted to engage Australian STEM students in this important challenge," Collingwood CEO Gary Pert.

"Our lead capologist Dominic Milesi is arguably our brightest superstar off the field. His unique talent and analysis are critical to our success as a club.

"Our hope for the Collingwood STEM Cup is to inspire more students to study maths and STEM subjects and build Australia’s future."

Students, teachers, and parents interested in the STEM Cup can click here to register for the program. The competition officially opens on July 17 and runs through August 20.

The successful students and schools in each region will be recognised and rewarded with the Collinwood STEM Cup experience, including a behind the scenes VIP experience and draft session with Milesi and contribute to a salary cap planning session.

The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT) is promoting the initiative with its 4,500-member base of Maths Teachers and their schools so that Australian students can better appreciate the power of mathematics from the classroom to the football field.

“AAMT is pleased to work with Collingwood and LifeJourney on the STEM Cup," stated AAMT Chief Executive Officer Will Morony.

"Our teacher members are constantly seeking out unique and interesting programs that provide students with an opportunity to leverage maths skills in a real-world context. Combining the power of football with the importance of maths enables us to accelerate the STEM agenda of our nation."

Participation in the STEM Cup is offered free of charge. Teachers are encouraged to register their students for the STEM Cup through the website.

This media release was sourced directly from the Collingwood Football online.

Secure your booking at our upcoming workshops in either Sydney or Melbourne on the Art of Membership and how to create and cement lifelong relationships presented by Sheri Jacobs, President & CEO of Avenue M Group. 

Do you understand how your members perceive value? The market for membership is shifting as attitudes, needs and expectations change. Why do some organisations grow and thrive while others do not? Although the demand for information, education, advocacy and networking remains quite strong, what has changed is how individuals and companies evaluate, participate and engage with associations

Learn how to apply the fundamental concepts and skills necessary to cement member loyalty including:

• How to attract the next generation of members, influencers, decision-makers and super-users to your organisation. 
  
• How to identify and communicate your value proposition.
• How to engage members in a way that will keep them loyal to your organisation. 
• The secrets to writing persuasive member communications.
• How to improve member response rates based on proven psychological principles.
• Innovative new ways to structure your membership programs.

Book Sydney, Friday 22 July 2016

Book Melbourne, Monday 25 July 2016 

The Country Women’s Association (CWA) of NSW is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Danica Leys as its Chief Executive Officer. Danica brings fresh enthusiasm to the NSW arm of Australia’s largest women’s organisation, as well as a raft of experience in not-for-profit, government and rural organisations.

According to CWA of NSW President Tanya Cameron, the appointment heralds the beginning of a future-focused era for the CWA.

“This year sees the election of new Office Bearers in May and we have recently approved a new Strategic Plan to take the Organisation through to 2018. The appointment of a CEO is another step in this process of building an exciting future,” said Tanya.

Tanya hopes Danica’s appointment will capture the attention of a broad range of potential members, however she is most excited about Danica’s capacity to boost the CWA’s already-strong record of advocacy.

“Danica’s experience within industry, government and legal sectors will be invaluable. Furthermore, thanks to her agricultural background and rural experience, she knows and understands regional Australia. We are confident she will help us achieve the Organisation’s strategic objectives,” said Tanya.

Ms Leys has most recently been with NSW Farmers, in both policy and industrial relations areas, and in 2012 she was awarded the NSW Rural Women’s Award for her efforts in the rural sector. 

She has held board positions with Australian Women in Agriculture Limited, AgChatOZ Incorporated and The University of Sydney Agriculture Alumni. She holds Bachelor Degrees in Agriculture (Honours) and Laws and has completed the highly regarded Australian Institute of Company Directors Course.

Like Tanya, Danica is already passionate about the Organisation’s advocacy position and is keen to help build on the successes achieved to date.

“The CWA is a force to be reckoned with. Full of passionate, articulate members that care deeply about rural and regional communities. When they speak strongly on an issue the government listens. I am interested in harnessing that and ensuring members have an organisation that enables their voice to be heard at the highest levels, with key decision makers,” said Danica.

Danica is also looking forward to focusing on potential partnerships and alliances to leverage both advocacy and fundraising efforts; however initially, she looks forward to starting from within.

“In the first instance, my role is to listen, meet as many members as possible and understand what they want from a modern, progressive and influential organisation like the CWA,” said Danica, who concludes by recognising retiring Executive Officer Donna Wilkins, “I want to give credit to Donna, who has steered the organisation to where it is today. She has done a wonderful job and leaves the Organisation in a great position to take on new challenges and grow even more into the future.”

This media release was sourced directly from Associations Net online.

Remaining fee support scholarships to be awarded prior to June 30

On behalf of Women & Leadership Australia (WLA), we are pleased to provide you with information pertaining to leadership development scholarships currently available to our female members.

In line with WLA’s aim to increase the accessibility of high quality leadership development to a greater percentage of female leaders, fee support scholarships are selectively provided to assist current and aspiring female leaders in their career development journey.

Fee support scholarships for women, remains unallocated and must be awarded prior to the end of this financial year. Fee support is available under two distinct streams.

Stream 1 - $6,000 Fee Support for Senior Female Leaders

Senior and executive level managers are invited to apply for fee support of up to $6,000 to support their participation in Australia’s most prestigious executive women’s program, the Advanced Leadership Program. View the Prospectus here.

Stream 2 - $3,000 Fee Support for High Potential and Mid-Level Female Leaders

High potential and mid-level managers are invited to apply for fee support of up to $3,000 to support their participation in the Accelerated Leadership Performance Program, a unique 18 week program designed to fast track leadership capacity and accelerate career potential. View the Prospectus here. 

Expressions of Interest

Should you wish to make an expression of interest in either stream, you must complete an EOI form and return it by June 30th. View the Expression of Interest Form here.

Should you wish to discuss this opportunity prior to submitting an EOI please contact Women and Leadership Australia on (03) 9270 9016 or via admissions@wla.edu.au.

Australia’s national association for fintech startups has appointed its first ever CEO, with an industry head at Fairfax set to take the reins with the aim of making the local ecosystem a world-leading hub.

Current industry head of banking and financial services at Fairfax Media Danielle Szetho is now the CEO of Fintech Australia after a unanimous decision by the group’s board.

Szetho has spent most of her career working in the media industry, including for News Limited and Fox Sports.

THE NATURAL CHOICE

Fintech Australia president Simon Cant says Szetho is the natural choice to lead the group going forward.

“We needed someone that could really build and drive the community – we interviewed a number of candidates but Danielle is the perfect person for this role,” Cant tells StartupSmart.

“She’s a natural connector and that’s exactly what this role needs, someone that brings a vision and has the energy to get stuff done.”

Szetho says her interest in fintech was sparked by her work at Fairfax.

“My role was about understanding the landscape, our clients, the trends and making sure Fairfax itself was positioned to deliver on this,” Szetho tells StartupSmart.

“Inevitably if you work across this ecosystem and talk to the banks you hear about fintech. I threw myself into fintech and it has been so fascinating to see how this is developing.”

After signing up with Fintech Australia as a volunteer, she soon applied for the position of CEO when it was advertised earlier this year.

“I got into the ecosystem and found out about Fintech Australia,” Szetho says.

“I thought it was absolutely fantastic and I was really encouraged by its ability to self-organise in a short space of time and pull together a really compelling submission that drives actionable outcomes.

“That ability to drive outcomes has to be what it’s all about.”

THE OVERALL VISION

Szetho says she has lofty ambitions for the group and Australian fintech in general.

“My vision is to make Australia one of the world’s leading markets for fintech innovation,” she says.

“Realistically I do think we have a strong shot and a strong role to play in Asia.”

The top priority for Fintech Australia now is a national census on fintech startups.

“Unless we have some really good, solid data about the size, composition and maturity of the market and where the gaps are it’s difficult to argue about what we need to be doing,” Szetho says.

“There’s a big piece to play in terms of how we get talent into the ecosystem too.”

Before consolidating into a formal association, Fintech Australia, as a group of 30 or so players in the sector, produced a policy priorities paper for the government after meeting with treasurer Scott Morrison.

“He caught the bug and could see the potential of it,” Cant says.

“We decided as a group to get something done first and then set up the group. We’ve had great momentum and impact in a short space of time before we were really even an association.

“People were really galvanised by the impact but we were really conscious that we wanted to create something really sustainable.”

KEEPING FOCUS

With more than a month left in the election campaign, Cant says he hopes fintech remains an ongoing focus.

“It’s important that we don’t lose sight of the potential of fintech,” he says.

“I’d love to see the momentum continued after the election. This is a bipartisan mission, both sides 

get the power and importance of fintech and how important it is for the government to ensure that they clear away the obstacles.”

Szetho adds that it’s important for Australia to overcome city rivalries and work together as a true ecosystem.

“Our vision is about Australia, and if you can’t get behind that then who can you get behind?” she says.

This article was originally sourced from Start Up Smart and was written by Denahm Sadler.

Findings from the Australian Associations National Survey announced today reveal that associations are inadequately prepared for the future, but that the threats they face are similar across 60 diverse industry and professional sectors.

Government Funding/Policy and Changing Member Needs ranked as the two biggest future threats, followed closely by Increasing Competition with virtually all associations affected by one of these. 48 per cent of associations reported the extent of disruption they faced as either high or extreme, with another 42 per cent reporting moderate disruption.

The survey also identified the challenges currently holding associations back from peak performance. Unsurprisingly, Insufficient Resources ranked highest but the next three challenges were all controllable factors around skillsets, capacity and culture - Board Capability (41 per cent), Traditional Mindsets (40 per cent) and Resistance to Change (39 per cent).

Australian associations generally perform better on day-to-day operational matters such as immediate Mission Goals and Member Needs than on future focused activities. The worst four traits of association performance are Future Focus, Managing Change, Innovation and Commercial Growth – with 80 per cent of associations self-ranking themselves as poor or mediocre on commercial growth.

“The survey is the first of its kind to benchmark the challenges and opportunities facing Australian associations, and also identified key governance requirements”, said Omer Soker, CEO of The Ethics of Success Corporation and author of The Future of Associations.

26 per cent of Associations self-reported as having inadequate Governance Structures. Association Chairs ranked highest on Capability, with 55 per cent rated Excellent or Good, but Board Capability on Strategic Leadership and Risk Management was low, with 66 per cent and 67 per cent of Boards respectively rated as either Poor or Mediocre.

The survey was conducted online. A total of 1,000 associations were contacted with emails sent to CEOs, board directors and department heads of large, medium and small member serving associations across 60 sectors. Replies were tallied after the first 100 responses had been received. No incentives were provided to respondents.

This media release was sourced directly from News Maker online.

A national alliance of community housing and welfare groups is campaigning the government to abolish “unfair” negative gearing and put housing affordability at the centre of this federal election.

The alliance – made up of Homelessness Australia (HA), National Shelter, the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) and the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) – has created a petition calling for tax reforms that “put ordinary people ahead of the interests of investors”.

“Australia is in the midst of a housing crisis and current tax policy has fuelled Australian housing prices to record and unaffordable levels,” ACOSS CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie said.

“Tax settings that encourage speculative investment and inflate house prices – like negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount – must be addressed in a new national strategy to address housing affordability.”

She said these “unfair tax concessions” cost the federal budget more than $7 billion every year with over half of these tax breaks going to investors in the top 10% of income earners.

The petition is arguing that the savings from binning negative gearing could be redirected to improve affordability, including a tax rebate for new affordable housing, and significantly increased investment in public and community housing.

“ACOSS stands with the community in insisting that governments do all that they can to ensure everyone pays their fair share of tax to enable us to fund our services properly into the future and to help end the housing crisis that is pushing people into financial hardship,” Dr Goldie said.

This article was originally sourced from Australian Broker and was written by Julia Corderoy.

Thirty students representing 25 postgraduate organisations met at the Council of Postgraduate Association (CAPA) Special Council Meeting to discuss issues faced by postgraduate students in a corporatised university setting.

CAPA is the peak, not-for-profit body that represents 320,000-plus postgraduate students, through its 33 postgraduate affiliates and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Association (NATSIPA).

The two-day meeting was addressed by Jeannie Rea, national president of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) who reported the federal budget was holding onto fee deregulation through its sneaky policy of universities being able to charge anything they desired for “flagship courses”.

“The Turnbull government did not step away from their $100,000 degree policy,” she said. “The flagship courses were proposed in a report by Julia Gillard and are a gateway to fee deregulation and university managements charging whatever they want. Instead, the union is campaigning for well-funded public education across the system.

“We are the only union in the country that has fought for enterprise bargaining agreements that include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment targets — it would be good to have other unions emulate this.

“Our last round of bargaining focused on creating 1000 ongoing positions in universities for those who have been academic casuals, as one in two people in universities now have insecure jobs.

There are 80% of people employed in research who are now only are on short term fixed positions, employed from one project to the next.

“It is scandalous because funding is allocated for six years so universities know they have the money. It is also terrible when some vice-chancellors are making in one week what a casual academic makes in a year”.

Council of International Students Australia (CISA) representative Maximilian Obiakor, based at University New England, said: “The government just launched a report International Education Strategy which aims to increase international students from 500,000 to 1 million by 2020-2025. The rhetoric was very appealing but the courses are extremely expensive and they haven't granted concession cards in NSW and Victoria for postgraduate international students.”

Sharlene Leroy-Dyer, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Association (NATSIPA) liaison officer and Socialist Alliance candidate for the NSW Senate said: “Universities are whitestreaming. They are shutting Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander services and centres and reducing funding to Indigenous specific curriculum. Abbott introduced the Indigenous Advancement Strategy which means universities have to bid for funding for their Indigenous programs. One university's program had their funding halved.”

National President of CAPA Jim Smith said Melbourne University postgraduate students face “massive debt”.

“We already have $100,000 degrees. Deregulation of postgraduate fees already exists as there is no Commonwealth supported places for some courses. A lot of courses are not approved for Centrelink purposes so students face lots of debt and insufficient income support.”

Smith said university administrations don't treat postgraduate students very well. “For example Melbourne University trialled using Cadmus, which was purported to be an anti-plagiarism program, without letting students know. It monitored every key stroke that students made and operated with the principle of punishing people. It is not in line with educative response, and if universities teach people referencing skills they won't plagiarise. They were spying on students. Student organisations acted and demanded an end to the trial and the university agreed.

“There is a Federal election coming up and CAPA is looking to inform students on each political party's policy regarding higher education. While we don't think any parties are perfect on this issue, but we want to inform students about what each party's stance is and create a scorecard. So we are looking to share the experiences of postgraduate students on social media and print posters for all our affiliates with our election scorecard findings.

“CAPA stands for free education, so we want to make arguments about why education is a public good and call on political parties to commit to increased funding.”

CAPA general secretary and president of Monash University Postgraduate Association Peter Hurley said: “We want to win a higher rate for Australian Postgraduate Awards [scholarship for research students] because universities get a good deal out of students. We produce a lot of research output for the universities, who get a lot of grants for research but students are paid poorly.

“Monash University is really pitching the corporatisation of education. It tries to link everything to employability, not to learning and research. At Monash there is a compulsory training pitch in an elevator — you come across a venture capitalist in a lift and have to convince them of your research's 'worth'. 'Well this does not benefit society. Education should not have to justify itself to some kind of market paradigm. We need to value learning for learning's sake.”

The CAPA Conference occurred on National Sorry Day and, after being informed by Leroy-Dyer about the high rates of Aboriginal children being stolen still, the conference held a photoshoot calling on state and federal governments to “Stop Stealing Aboriginal Children”. 

CAPA also endorsed Moreland's No to Racism rally, national Palm Sunday Welcome Refugee rallies, national Rainbow Campus NOW campaigns, and Marriage Equality Now rallies.

This article was originally sourced from Green Left Weekly and was written by Rachel Evans.

MOST of us say “hey guys” to our colleagues several times a day and give it little thought.

But today Australian of the Year David Morrison, who has long fought for gender equality, says the term should no longer be used in the workplace.

The retired Lieutenant General, who made international headlines in 2013 for his rousing speech criticising the military’s sexist culture, has partnered with the Diversity Council of Australia (DCA) to launch a campaign called #WordsAtWork.

“Research has told us for years how language cuts people out or cuts them down, and yet it still happens,” he says in a DCA promotional video. “When it comes to words at work, we’ve all got to walk the talk.”

Words like “abo”, “retard”, “poofter”, “fag”, “dyke” and the term “so gay” are obviously offensive. A man who addresses a group of women with “hello ladies” or “hello girls” might raise a few eyebrows. But the DCA says “guys” is a gendered word that can make women feel left out.

“We want to get people thinking about the language they use in the workplace and whether it’s inclusive or excludes people,” Diversity Council of Australia’s CEO Lisa Annese told news.com.au.

“We’re not telling people what to say, we’re encouraging people to think about the words they use at work so everyone feels respected, valued and included. We know from research that when more inclusive language is used at work, people are greater engaged and more proactive.”

Ms Annese suggests using phrases like “Hi everyone” or “Hi team”.

“A really good test is reversing the gender. Would you walk into a mixed gender group and say  ‘Hello ladies’ or ‘Hello girls’? No, because men would be offended,” she said.

“I used to use the word guys. I have both genders in my team and I out of respect for everyone, I think it’s much better if I say ‘Hi team’ as it includes everyone. It’s a small change.”

Mr Morrison told the ABC he no longer uses the term “Hi guys” when speaking to a group of people.

“I have now removed that from my lexicon as best I can. I think it’s important,” he said.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has defended the phrase and says campaigners shouldn’t try to interfere in free speech at workplaces.

“I think we can take this kind of concern too far,” she said during a doorstop interview in Sydney today.

“There are some generic words that should not cause offence. It would depend on the circumstances but I don’t think we should try and interfere with the freedom of speech in this country to a point where people are too concerned about day-to-day conversations.”

This article was originally sourced from News online and was written by Rebecca Sullivan.