2021 has turned out to be just as strange as 2020, with much of Australia in lockdown right now. Despite this, AICCM members have continued to amaze me with their enthusiasm, creativity and resourcefulness. Members have planned THREE events for next month, centred around the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on 13 October.
In addition to their monthly webinar, the committee behind the Agents of Change series have organised a special online workshop to be presented by Dr Dolapo Fakuade. ‘Beyond the walls – Identifying Decision Makers During Disasters’ will build disaster preparedness skills and resilience for participants, with a special focus on communities and connections. At only $50 for members, it is also a total bargain – sign up here!
Our Disaster Preparedness Committee is also putting the final touches on a free disaster preparedness planning tool to be launched in October, in conjunction with Blue Shield – stay tuned for launch details.
Keep an eye out too for news of the upcoming Paintings SIG symposium, Australian Made, which will run online in November and December.
On National Council, Kasi Albert, Grace Barrand, and Lisa Mansfield have done incredible work to draft a new AICCM funder database and sponsorship prospectus. Cobus van Breda negotiated a new contract with Routledge/Taylor & Francis, who publish the Bulletin. Katie Wood coordinated this year’s AICCM award nominations. Sandi Mitchell coordinated the latest round of Professional Membership applications and renewals. We also finalised our 2019-20 Annual Report.
Our Secretariat Michelle Berry has also been busy – she ensured we have public liability insurance for our events for another year and renewed our tax deductible gift recipient status, on top of her regular work to keep all our meetings, events, website activities and mailouts going. Michelle and our bookkeeper Hilary Milsome also sent out our accounts to be audited and organised for State capitation fees to be paid. Paul Coleman and Zora Sanders have kept our website and social media accounts updated and working smoothly – with special thanks to Paul for making our webinar event recordings available online.
I’d like to welcome Victoria Thomas as our new eNews editor. Victoria works at Artlab Australia in Adelaide as a textiles conservator. Thank you Victoria! The newsletter is one of our most valued resources, and organising it is no small task.
At this year’s AGM we will say goodbye to two steadfast National Council members – Katie Wood, Membership Officer, and Amy Bartlett, National Secretary. Katie and Amy have both volunteered with AICCM for many years – Katie overseeing our awards program, and Amy (most recently!) keeping us on track with National Council meetings, agendas and minutes. They kept these important functions going and I am grateful for the time and energy they’ve given to AICCM. Many thanks, Katie and Amy, and all the best for your next steps!
Alice Cannon
President
September 2021