Members and other stakeholders know that the association has worked hard for many years to secure support from government to increase our capacity to provide direct services to the 20,000+ incredible women and men we proudly represent.
After the State Government confirmed it could not fix the long-standing funding anomaly and advised us to seek other sources of income, we are very proud to have responded with the same “can do” ethos of our amazing members and as a direct result, have planned some extremely exciting initiatives.
With that in mind, we are very, very excited to today announce plans for our first annual Bushfire Volunteers Convention/Exhibition – ConEx 2020 – to be held in the Southwest Town of Collie in October.
ConEx will a unique event, held annually in a Western Australian regional town and each year will bring together Volunteers, Local Government Officers who support them, businesses, suppliers, media and other valued stakeholders to work together for a better tomorrow.
The word “ConEx” is purposefully intended to play on the concept of “connection” but literally include many other ideas including those summarised with words that are critically important to our members including:
Consult, Exhibit, Consider, Exchange, Congratulate, Explore, Contribute, Excite, Contextualise, Experience, Connect, Experiment, Consume and Explain.
While at its core, ConEx will become an important annual Convention and Exhibition for Western Australia’s Volunteer Bush Fire community, a lot of work has been done to make it much more than that
Importantly, ConEx is not a typical “sit down and listen to a lecture” type of conference. We value the vast local knowledge and experience of our diverse Bushfire Volunteers so we have worked hard to create a process that delivers real outcomes through culturally appropriate participation and maximum engagement.
From the requirement that Exhibitors MUST bring at least one device/tool/piece of equipment that delegates can physically touch AND see in action, to the series of themed workshops and activities for all participants, ConEx walks the talk on respect for, and engagement of, the invaluable women and men volunteers who collectively form Western Australia’s largest emergency service.
To show your support for our plan and register your interest as a Bushfire Volunteer, Local Government Officer or potential Sponsor, Exhibitor or other contributor, visit www.conex.org.au now!!
NOTE REGARDING CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19):
Bushfire Volunteers takes the COVID-19 pandemic very seriously and therefore recognises that we may not be able to deliver a face-to-face event in October.
However, things are changing quickly and an event of this size will take our small team a lot more time to arrange than to postpone if need be. Hence we have decided to carefully proceed with the guarantee to fully refund sponsors and exhibitors if things do not improve and the event cannot go ahead.
The physical health of our members, stakeholders and broader community will always be our highest priority. We will postpone or cancel the event closer to October if it is not possible to continue safely.
In the meantime, we believe it is important for the emotional and economic wellbeing of our stakeholders and regional communities for the association to lead by making and communicating responsible, positive plans for the future – acknowledging that they might have to change.
So please support us as we embrace the committed yet flexible approach the 20,000+ Bushfire Volunteers we so proudly represent are famous for.
