FROM THE
ACTING CHAIR
3
Dear Members
I would imagine you’re all aware by now that with the easing of COVID 19 restrictions we’re able in some States & Territories to physically attend our events. The Q1 events are up and running and those States which have not already staged an event will be planning to do so quite soon.
State events are one of the signature offerings of the Australian Service Management Forum and we’re highly regarded internationally for these, so it is important to appreciate that they are up and running, some virtual, some in person and some hybrid.
A lesson we all learned during lockdown was the value of ‘Virtual’ events and of course we are now routinely augmenting the physical events with virtual ones. And we’re also hoping to be able to offer ‘live streaming’ too in the near future.
At the moment not every state is able to offer an ‘in-person’ event, but we are also working towards that goal too – we have a lot on our plate at the moment!
You may have seen that the call has gone out for speaker submissions for our National Conference and I’d like to suggest that as members of the Australian Forum you give serious thought to framing a proposal for consideration. I’m sure there are some of you who have an interesting story to tell.
There is a lot more information on this year’s Conference and streams available on the website or among the social media posts. Also by the time you read this the call for itSMF Industry Awards nominations will have gone out!
I was both personally and professionally saddened recently to hear of the demise of the New Zealand Service Management Forum. It does demonstrate the difficulties of running a Not for Profit organisation like ours, but it also serves to highlight how professionally the Australian Forum is run. We have reached out to our counterparts from across the ‘Ditch’ to offer our support and how we might be able to assist keep their active members involved in the Service Management community.
I’ll conclude my welcoming remarks by adding that as we emerge from what has been a very difficult time for many people, please keep a lookout for those among us who may not be travelling quite so well and feel free to reach out to them with a helping hand. We’re all in this together.
Enjoy your Bulletin.
Brendan Cullen
Acting Chair, itSMF Australia.