This seems to be a popular season for conferences, at least in the organizing industry! Last week we heard about the recent POAA Conference, and today we have the pleasure of hearing about the 2009 Australasian Association of Professional Organisers (AAPO) Conference, thanks to Angela Esnouf, AAPO President, and Roz Howland, AAPO Vice President.

Brisbane was the most organised city in Australia in the first week of September! Professional Organisers from all over the globe gathered for AAPO’s 4^th Annual Conference.

70 delegates enjoyed two days jam packed full of quality speakers, networking activities and of course plenty of eating and drinking!

A major highlight of the Conference was the signing of the Affiliation Agreement between AAPO and NSGCD. AAPO President Angela Esnouf, and NSGCD President, Katherine D. (Kit) Anderson, CPO-CD.

We were honoured to have such an international presence at Conference this year. Katherine D. (Kit) Anderson, CPO-CD gave both a presentation and a post conference workshop. Janine Adams, also from the States presented us with some excellent ways to harness the power of the internet.

As well as a strong New Zealand attendance  we had delegates from USA, Malaysia and Japan. The presence of Mayumi Takahara from Japan was special as she is right at the initial stages of founding the Japanese professional body for POs. What an exciting time to be part of this industry!!!

The presentations covered a wide scope of running an Organising business from personal branding, to self care to language patterns, to insurance.

Will the 2010 programme have your name on it?  Or perhaps the delegate list? We hope so. The location of the 5^th Annual Conference is Christchurch, New Zealand. So, dust off those skis and start planning now for 13 & 14^th September 2010. Watch the AAPO site for further details.