Noosa Long Weekend Festival forums set to engage and entertain
13th Noosa Long Weekend Festival (18-27 July 2014)
July 2, 2014
The 13th annual Noosa Long Weekend Festival held 18-27 July is bringing together television personalities, industry experts and educators as part of its well-loved forum program, presented again this year in association with The University of the Sunshine Coast.
Festival Director Ian Mackellar enthuses that the four forums hold something for everyone and are a very important component of the Festival.
“The Festival Forums are a great way for audiences to engage with some of the country’s leading authorities on everything from architecture, bias in the Australian media, reinventing retirement, and taking the pulse on national politics,” Mr Mackellar said.
A popular favourite at the Festival, Barrie Cassidy, will be hosting ‘Insiders’ for the eighth consecutive year and tackles the big issues in Australia’s political landscape.
Cassidy will be joined by three new colleagues on Monday 21 July – Niki Savva, columnist for The Australian, author and former political advisor to Peter Costello and Prime Minister John Howard; Dennis Atkins, former political advisor and now national affairs editor for the Courier Mail; and Malcolm Farr, one of Australia’s most influential journalists and national political editor for www.news.com.au
“Insiders get around half a million viewers every Sunday morning, but apart from the camera operators and the floor manager, there is nobody else in the studio. At Noosa, I think everybody enjoys the live audience, the immediate feedback and the question and answer session near the end,” Mr Cassidy said.
With an increasingly hot topic, ‘Bias in the Australian Media’ is sure to be a fiery forum to attend with presenter and series producer of Big Ideas on ABC RN, Paul Barclay moderating and held on 19 July as part of the Festival’s opening weekend.
“This forum looks at the impact on community trust in the media, the integrity of media organisations and how this debate extends beyond political issues,” Mr Mackellar said.
“The panel includes Hedley Thomas, winner of the prestigious Walkley Award for journalism on five separate occasions; Andrew Jaspan, with thirty years experience in publishing he is the Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief of The Conversation online publication; Tom Switzer, the Australian editor of The Spectator in the UK; and Dr John Harrison, an award-winning university lecturer in journalism and professional communication.”
The other two forums top and tail the Festival’s program with ‘Reinventing Retirement’ held Saturday 19 July and ‘Architecture’ held Saturday 26 July.
“With more Australians over the age of 60 than any other time in our history, ‘Reinventing Retirement’ is a pertinent perspective, challenging stereotypes and exploring new pathways for our older community members,” said Mr Mackellar.
The panel for this forum includes Dr Patricia Edgar AM who is sociologist, educator, film and television producer, writer, researcher, and policy analyst and has written the book “In Praise of Ageing” where she turns her attention to ageing policy in Australia; Val French AM is a journalist and academic, President and Founder of Older People Speak Out (OPSO) and has a Centenary Medal and Commonwealth Senior Achiever Medal; and Prof Laurie Buys is an experienced social science researcher and research manager based in the School of Design at QUT with her main research interest in social gerontology.
Paul Barclay will moderate the discussion which will be recorded for later broadcast on Radio National’s “Big Ideas”.
‘Architecture’ sees three of Australia’s most celebrated architects contributing to this forum which will no doubt strike a chord with many Noosa and Sunshine Coast residents.”
“’Architecture’ is an important discussion on whether modern conditions have overtaken our ability to differentiate architecture and our communities or should regional character be consciously sustained and referenced.”
Mr Mackellar said the Festival has once again provided a popular selection of events and the forums are certainly no exception.
“I am urging everyone to get in fast while they still can as tickets have been moving fast this year with several of our events sold out weeks ahead.”
To view the full program or purchase festival tickets please visit www.noosalongweekend.com.
// Ends.
Media enquiries:
Helen Perry, Fresh PR & Marketing
P: 0431 065 964
E: Helen@freshprm.com.au
High-resolution images are available.
Whilst all events listed as part of media communication are accurate at the time of release, The Noosa Long Weekend Festival program is subject to change without notice due to circumstances outside of the event organiser’s control.
The Noosa Long Weekend Festival would like to thank our many sponsors including:
PRESENTING SPONSOR – Bendigo Bank
FESTIVAL PARTNER – Tourism Noosa
To book your Noosa accommodation for the Noosa Long Weekend Festival go to www.visitnoosa.com.au or call 13000 NOOSA [13000 666 72]
For the full list of festival sponsors please visit our website www.noosalongweekend.com
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