Media Release
FRIDAY 10 MARCH 2023
AUSTRALIAN FESTIVAL INDUSTRY CONFERENCE RELEASES FIRST ROUND OF 2023 SPEAKERS
The Australian Festival Industry Conference (AFIC) has released its first round of speakers which will appear at its third annual event, to be held across Wednesday 30 August – Thursday 31 August at Luna Park Sydney.
AFIC – the Asia Pacific’s leading industry meeting place for festival management personnel – returns once again to present a range of industry-leading keynotes, presentations, panel discussions, workshops, trade show and evening networking events.
This year’s keynote presenters are event visionaries, Rhoda Roberts AO and Anthony Bastic AM.
Rhoda is arguably Australia’s top indigenous festival producer. An experienced festival director and versatile indigenous arts executive, Rhoda has been involved in numerous national and international festivals and major events, including Parrtjima – A Festival of Light, Bluesfest’s Boomerang Festival, Rugby World Cup, and the Festival of the Dreaming (staged prior to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games).
Drawing on her 25+ year career in indigenous event and content design, Rhoda will discuss how festival directors can co-design festivals with First Nations peoples.
Anthony is the CEO and Creative Director behind AGB Events and is a pioneer in conceptualising, producing and delivering festivals in Australia and overseas. Anthony was instrumental in establishing Vivid Sydney and held positions of Curator and Festival Director of Light for a decade. He has initiated Parrtjima – A Festival of Light in 2016, ELEVATE Sydney and most recently Noël Sydney.
He will discuss how organisers can activate non-traditional public spaces and take an inclusive approach to program content development.
Additional speakers include:
- Greg Donavan – Managing Director, Outback Music Festival Group
- Alana Hay – Founder and Managing Director, Milestone Creative
- Sally Porteous – Managing Director, Red Lanyard, The Event Planners Workshop and the Event Managers Network
- Jason Holmes – Managing Director, H2 Insurance Solutions
- Badi Mahabat – Principle, Bold Futures
- Dr Abbas Elmualim – Partner, Bold Futures
AFIC’s full line up of speakers and program will be revealed later in the year.
AFIC founder and event director, Carlina Ericson, says she is proud to present another spectacular speaker line-up representing some of Australia’s top festival management personnel.
“I’m proud to announce this year’s first round of speakers – they each represent a pocket of the industry, and range from music festival producers, to expert event marketers, to technology developers.
“We’re also exciting to be bringing AFIC to Sydney for the very first time. This year’s program is certainly one not to be missed!”
Registrations to obtain exclusive access to discounted pre-sale tickets are now open. Pre-sale tickets save delegates 20% off the regular purchase price.
Pre-sale tickets go on sale at 9:00 (AEST) on Monday, 3 April 2023. To register for pre-sale access, visit www.australianfestivalconference.com.au
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Hashtags: #afic2023 #austfestconference
Further media enquiries: please contact Carlina Ericson, founder & event director on 0431 523 970 or carlina@australianfestivalconference.com.au