Project Description

Nectar were engaged to deliver the 6th National Elder Abuse Conference in Brisbane in July 2019.

With elder abuse being a prevalent issue but a silent epidemic, ADA Australia and Caxton Legal Centre worked cohesively to overcome barriers and highlight this ongoing problem with the following objectives:

Seek and engage exciting and new speakers of the highest quality:

  • Provoke discussion about elder abuse amongst delegates and the broader community
  • Progress the rhetoric and theory around elder abuse and putting it into action
  • Provide a range of opportunities for key stakeholders, including the harder to reach cohorts, to connect, share their experiences and strategise about progressing our response to elder abuse
  • Stimulate a chain reaction in policy and practice at all levels.

Our idea:

The subject matter for this conference was very important but also considered ‘heavy and serious’, so we worked very closely with the program committee to ensure the program had light and shade – interjecting some artistic performances into the main program (eg. Poetry reading by children and musical performance) – all on topic but a different perspective.

In addition, we knew this had to be an outcome driven conference, so we worked with the program committee on session formatting and ways to ensure audience interaction and engagement through a very user-friendly onsite app.

The networking event is key to this group, so didn’t want any ‘entertainment’ that would hinder the conversation. Nectar worked with a number of local groups and curated a photographic exhibition which supported the theme of Rock The Boat around Elder Abuse. The exhibition was on display in the networking event and became a great ‘conversation starter’ for the group.

Result:

The event met all the attendance targets, bringing together representatives across all the different sectors in the sector nationally. It addressed the big issues and presented solutions for consideration. Advocacy groups are continuing this beyond the event.

In addition each session discussion was recorded and is being released as post event podcasts for those who didn’t attend to access the information.

Financially Nectar delivered the event under budget without compromise to the quality of the delegate experience – presenting the client with a substantial profit instead of the initial forecast loss.