“Celebrating World Wetlands Day”
Join us at our newly renovated and extended facility for
The 19th Annual Western Australian Wetlands Conference
that will be held from Wednesday, 1st February to Friday, 3rd February 2023at The Wetlands Centre Cockburn, 184 Hope Road, Bibra Lake, Western Australia 6163
Call for Presentations
We are pleased to invite presenters to submit abstracts for keynotes, expert presentations, case studies and workshops for the 19th Annual WA Wetlands Conference. A call for presentations was issued though our newsletters in early September and in October. We look forward to continuing our tradition of facilitating a meaningful conversation on wetland topics, providing you access to quality keynotes, engaging session speakers, inspirational success stories and hands-on workshops. We extend this invitation to our cultural leaders and traditional custodians to learn and partake from your knowledge and experience, to make this conference meaningful and informed.
Objectives of our conference
“To increase knowledge, awareness, understanding and commitment to the conservation, interpretation and management of Wetlands.”
“And, to provide an annual networking forum for organisations and individuals involved in the above”.
Conference Themes
The overarching conference theme follows the Ramsar theme for 2023 of ‘Wetland Restoration’. The three day conference is divided into 6 half-days, each of which is set to feature the following themes – Leadership, Reconciliation & Truth-Telling, Sustainability, Partnerships, Humanities and Workshops.
Conference Structure
We believe that each and every one has a stake in the conservation of wetlands and the issues that surround them. So, we have structured our conference to allow for a wide range of participation of those engaged in the conservation of wetlands. The first two days of the conference are divided into half-day phases, each of which is based on the following themes. (Note: Humanities presentations will be interspersed between other themes.) Day 3 is dedicated to workshops and excursions.
01.
Leadership
To increase the knowledge, awareness, understanding, participation, engagement, and commitment to the conservation of wetlands.
02.
Reconciliation & Truth-Telling
To initiate, support, and sustain a proactive partnership with traditional custodians for the conservation of wetlands.
03.
Sustainability
To develop and deliver standards, processes, projects, and/or programs that are environmentally, socially and economically justified.
04.
Partnerships
To initiate and sustain the widest possible proactive participation, support and engagement for the conservation of wetlands.
05.
Humanities
To showcase and explore the role of humanities in fostering the spiritual, scientific, aesthetic, historic and social value of wetlands and their conservation.
06.
Workshops
Workshops demonstrate skills, tools, resources, research or applications that contribute to growing, managing or sustaining wetland ecosystems.
Expectations from Presenters
For the 2022 conference, we are seeking contributions that support the overarching theme and those that can be categorized under one of the conference themes. We ask that authors submitting abstracts for presentations pick the theme that best fits their presentation’s focus. This will help conference planners to assign accepted abstracts to the most appropriate session. We reserve the right to change session titles to best accommodate accepted abstracts into the conference schedule.
To reiterate – As a criterion of our new submission process, please consider
1. The Ramsar theme for 2023
Wetland Restoration
and also
2. Nominate one of the following session themes that you would like your presentation to be considered for:
Leadership, Reconciliation & Truth-Telling, Sustainability, Partnerships, Humanities or Workshops.
Your presentation should demonstrate innovative wetland recovery and resilience practices, examples of the wise use of wetlands, and partnerships between government, industry, community and school educational institutions that improve wetland outcomes, enhance our understanding, culture and heritage surrounding wetlands, and instil an appreciation for the value of wetlands. In addition, we are also looking for current wetland projects, programs and achievements.
Important: Due to the nature of the conference, all speakers/presenters must register for the conference. We do encourage participants to stay the whole time to drive interactive discussions and engagement. We hope the format of the conference allows for rich, deep, and diverse discussions and engagement among all attendees.
Conference Structure
This year, the conference will include keynotes, expert presentations, case study presentations, workshops and plenary sessions, over 3 half-day phases, every one of which features one of our conference themes – Leadership, Reconciliation & Truth-Telling, Sustainability, Partnerships, Humanities and Workshops. (Workshops will be held on Day 3 and Humanities Presentations will be interspersed between the other themes' half-day sessions.) You are welcome to submit more than one presentation for consideration. Besides the presentation, the presenters will also be expected to join the respective plenary panel session. The four different types of presentations will be as follows.
Virtual Presentations
If you are unable to attend the conference in-person, but wish to present and are able to do so virtually over the internet, we will consider presentations that can be delivered through Zoom. Typical features such as screen sharing, breakout rooms, chat, and polls will be made available to presenters during live sessions. This facility is currently available for Case study presentation types. Please ensure that you specify this requirement—to present virtually—in your application.
Submissions Portal
Click the link to submit your Expression of Interest or Presentation Abstract/Synopsis.
Submission Deadline
Call for Keynotes, Expert Presentations, Case studies and Workshops –
If you would like to be considered, please submit your Abstract or Expression of Interest before the deadline.
18th November 2022
Friday
The conference program will be finalized by early December and speakers will be notified of their selection, time-slots and other relevant details. If there is a particular topic that you would like to see addressed at the conference, or any specific speaker(s) that you would like to hear from, your suggestions are welcome. Please contact the organisers at conference@thewetlandscentre.org.au with your inputs by Friday, 18th November 2022.
The Audience
The conference is intended to bring together a community of volunteers, landowners, students, local and state government officers, industry and private sector environmental officers, educators, academics, community leaders, aboriginal representatives and cultural stakeholders involved with wetland-related work.
Registrations
A call for registrations will be issued mid-September. It will include details of the conference program, type of attendance (in-person/virtual) and the registration fees. Every effort will be made to keep the fees to a minimum to facilitate broad community participation. Presenters will be required to register to attend the conference.
Photographs and Recordings
Important: Please note that we retain your implicit permission to capture/record and use your photographs and video recordings during the conference.
Conference Proceedings
Papers, presentations, workshop session recordings and takeaways will be collected and made available on this website. You are welcome to review the 2022 Conference Proceedings as an example.
Sponsorship
Expressions of interest are sought for sponsorship of the 2023 conference. Please visit our sponsorship webpage to know more.
For further details
please contact the conference organisers
The Wetlands Centre Cockburn
184 Hope Rd, Bibra Lake WA 6163
(08) 9417 8460
conference@thewetlandscentre.org.au
www.thewetlandscentre.org.au/conference
