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Return to Bulletin Home - June 2010 |
REPORT FROM MELBOURNE ANZA Workshop Outshines Icelandic Volcano 487 participants attended the 2010 Australia New Zealand Agent Workshop from April 21–23 in Melbourne—including 191 carefully screened agents from 40 countries. The delegates conducted more than 5,000 one-to-one meetings at this annual destination-focused event that puts the spotlight exclusively on educators and service providers in Australia and New Zealand.
But this is not the whole story of the ANZA workshop this year. Many miles from Melbourne as final preparations were well underway for the workshop, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland erupted. The resulting ash cloud disrupted air traffic to and from and within Europe during the ANZA workshop. Many of the participating agents were booked to travel before the suspension of air service took effect but ICEF's Bonn-based team was caught at Frankfurt Airport en route to Melbourne and unable to fly. In the days that followed, this extraordinary event served to illustrate a core strength of the ICEF organisation: ICEF is a global team with extremely well-established and field-proven procedures. The three stranded staff members returned immediately to Bonn and began a schedule of 24-hour support for local staff at the workshop in Melbourne. Meanwhile, staff members from the Americas, notably John Demer, Business Development Manager for North America and Karin Florez, Account Manager, Latin America, immediately traveled to Melbourne to assist. Led by Rod Hearps, the ICEF Australia team adjusted smoothly to these rapidly unfolding developments and came together to deliver an exceptional workshop.
Bruce Osborne, Director of the Universal College of Learning, New Zealand, summed up the perspective of many educators when he said, "Exceeded my expectations! I have attended events in the past, this was the best by far." In addition to a comprehensive and topical seminar programme, the workshop also featured three social networking events; a welcome reception, river cruise and gala dinner dance. Currie Moore, Sales Manager for Kaplan International noted that these networking opportunities added a lot of value to her workshop experience, particularly the gala dinner: "The atmosphere was fabulous for socialising and networking with agents".
A record number of 11 agent familiarisation (FAM) tours were conducted both before and after ANZA 2010. The FAM destinations, including Perth, Cairns, Hobart, and Wellington, successfully showcased their regions and institutions. The 2011 Australia New Zealand Agent Workshop will take place at the Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast from April 13 – 15.
Australia's stunning Gold Coast |
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