CONNECT23 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Tuesday 5th September 5.00pm
CONNECT23 EXCELLENCE IN MEDIA AWARDS
The annual Excellence in Media and Arts Awards night - a night of superior entertainment as we celebrate the stories and achievements of our community.
“Featuring live entertainment from Riley Clemmons, from Nashville, USA.”
Canapes. 5.30pm, Doors open - 5.45pm, Dinner and Livestream Commences. (Livestream is Free of charge and can be viewed at www.mediaarts.org.au)
Wednesday 6th SEPTEMBER 9am to 3.30pm (AEST) In-person
START THE DAY off right with a beautiful buffet breakfast (and for the willing, perhaps a dip in the pool) at the amazing JW Marriott Hotel.
MORNING SESSIONS PART A:
Thinking well as a Truth Seeker & Story Teller
Kick off at 9am. A series of short, sharp input moments, designed to inspire thought and provoke new possibilities.
- Stay curious - thinking well in our cultural moment
- Flourishing – through truth, beauty & goodness
- What time is it? Three different fields of social research, compiled and distilled for you into actionable steps as a communicator.
Session Highlights include
Keynote: What We Owe The Future
Christianity has had a remarkable impact on the span of human history, but what about the future? What will be our contribution to the world that is unfolding in front of us? What will be our legacy?
Our challenge is to understand what it means to be truthseekers and storytellers in a world of rapid and dislocating change. Truth, goodness and beauty provide a roadmap to a life of flourishing, but in a time of contested truth, confused goodness, and diminishing beauty, how can we ensure that the message of Jesus continues to bring hope and transformation to everyone?
In this session Jon explores truth, goodness and beauty as the framework for a “Theology of Media” and maps out a pathway for human flourishing into the future.
Interview: Unsung Hero - an interview about the upcoming film release, with Helen and David Smallbone, parents of For King & Country’s Luke and Joel Smallbone - and Rebecca St James.
MORNING TEA
MORNING SESSIONS PART B:
The Creative Communicator – Content Creation
- The Power of Story
- The Subtle Art of Speaking Well
- When Dreams are Shattered
- The Art of the Interview
- And more!
LUNCH 'N' LEARN DAY 1
Grab your delicious lunch and get up close and personal with some of our special guests in these informal, practical 30min breakouts. Have your questions ready!
- Combining best-practice PR and Strategic Communications principles with insights gleaned from scripture, John Watson suggests seven ways to communicate effectively and faithfully to culture in 2023.
- Online Engagement Skills
- Get your Legal Questions Answered with Jonathan Green from Mills Oakley
- Master Media Composer - from AVID
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON SESSIONS
- Join the producer of Masterchef, Lego Masters and Survivor for this must see session
“Let me draw your attention to the screens…”
Our focus on Wednesday afternoon is improving screen skills. Whether you’re an actor, someone behind the camera, in a vodcast studio, livestreaming, making video content for socials, producing leadership videos for donors – or even just a participant in a Zoom meeting – these short, practical sessions run by seasoned professionals will help ensure you are producing video that connects.
Afternoon Highlights:
“Solve a Problem for a Mate” - Ask your wicked problems of the panel - and your fellow delegates in this live and interactive session.
LATE AFTERNOON & EVENING
With the official program done for the day, this is a chance for a breather, catch ups with colleagues and friends, and enjoying a drink and a meal together.
Thursday 7th September 9am to 3:30pm (AEST) In-person
MORNING SESSIONS PART A:
The future - and how to help a mate
Practical and inspiring sessions with a lens on now, and the future. Sessions include:
- Are we telling the right story?
- Here Be Monsters – is technology reducing our humanity?
- The Arts of Digital Engagement
- Making Fundraising everyone’s job!
Session Highlights include
Keynote: Are we telling the right story?
There are so many competing stories we can live our lives by. How do we join our story to God's story? How do we stay true to that story? Kara Martin spends her time teaching workplace Christians how to stay faithful in workplaces where there are competing storylines: through her podcast, books, speaking, mentoring and lecturing. This is a chance to be challenged about the stories we live by and the stories we tell.
MORNING TEA
MORNING SESSIONS PART B:
Creativity, Innovation & Audience Engagement
Now, we shift gears to look at how to nurture these much-prized attributes:
- How to try something new – and how and when to evaluate it
- Developing & nurturing creativity
- Handling criticism well
- Raising funds – surely that’s someone else’s job, right?
Session Highlights include
Keynote: When It Hits the Fan: How to deal with a Reputational Crisis
In this session the team from Jersey Road PR will help you consider.
- The top risk issues every faith-based organisation needs to be prepared for
- How to expect the unexpected: Managing risk in today's online environment
- How to prepare your board and be media ready
- Steps to protect your reputation and funding during crisis
- And how to build trust in the midst of a storm
LUNCH 'N' LEARN DAY 2
- Digital innovation with Dave Adamson
- On Air Fundraising- With Todd and Friends.
- PR Q&A
- Master Protools - with AVID
THURSDAY AFTERNOON SESSIONS
Everyone’s favourite, a conversation tackling the controversial issues.
Engage in a fun, yet considered and respectful conversation where we seek to stay curious, think well, and ultimately advance good as we approach a range of topics and issues in our current cultural moment that communicators and media professionals of faith often struggle to address effectively. With a surprise gift for everyone!
Topics include:
- Gender
- How to engage well in a world when you don’t agree
- The Indigenous Voice to Parliament
- And more.
Session Highlights include
Keynote: Where Reasonable Minds Differ
What is the point of fighting for free speech if we have forgotten how to communicate? What does it mean to be a communicator if our words never find their footing?
The world of ideas is shrinking, and the arena of public debate is a polarising nightmare. But it doesn’t have to be this way. It is possible to find common ground through shared language; peace through shared stories; and to embrace the future with a collective hope.
As communicators we have it within us to reframe the contemptuous and fractious nature of modern public debate as we disarm the world with empathy, compassion and love. Formed and informed by the power of resurrection hope, if we are to experience the power of God into the future we must learn how to truly see people, how to hear their stories, and to celebrate the unshakeable goodness of God that runs through everyone.
In this session Jon invites us to re-learn the art of seeing each other well, so that we can continue to build communities that are thoughtful, hopeful and compassionate.
WRAP IT & PACK IT
Then, to wrap up our time together, we’ll dial it all right back to square one – a poignant time together, as we gather the Truth Seekers & Storytellers for one final session, where we reflect on all we have learned, and the grounding of our faith, as we focus on the greatest truth and story of them all—the Gospel.