Over the next few days the will be a number of information releases that outlines the activities that took place over the WIA Conference Weekend. There is also videos of the AGM and Open Forum that will placed on the WIA YouTube Channel in the near future.
The start to WIA Conference Weekend was a fantastic one with over 20 people attending the Club Executives gathering on the Friday afternoon between 3 and 5pm at the Park Royal Hotel in Darling Harbour, Sydney.
There was every state and territory represented except for the ACT and it was great to see Wally House VK6KZ all the way from VK6.
Director Aidan Mountford VK4APM started proceedings with a sobering assessment of where the hobby is at and some of the things the WIA has been actioning. This lead to broad discussion about many aspects of the hobby.
The key themes that were taken away from the discussions were:
This hobby has so many diverse aspects - how do we aggregate all these different activities under an umbrella called amateur radio to show the community what a great hobby this is?
Is calling it amateur radio actually impeding progress?
The hobby covers much more than just radio and getting a licence
We don’t market the fact that this hobby is similar to the Men's Shed movement and emphasise the social value that this hobby contributes to the community
How do we tap into the STEM/STEAM grants for technology education initiatives?
How do we tap into the maker and hacker movements and add value to these areas?
There were many great examples put forward by clubs where they have been able to benefit a community, get a grant, assist a school, make an ISS contact and practically demonstrate the value our hobby contributes
This all needs improved communication and marketing of the hobby and this is where the WIA can add value for clubs
Consideration was given to how the hobby can contribute to a person's education, occupational pathway, training and development and how these pathways are not necessarily well known in the community
Industry is looking for multi-skilled generalists who have practical experience of radio frequency technologies and amateur radio is a well respected source area
We need a clear statement of purpose, a master pitch that can infiltrate all our marketing and it may not be focused on radio!
There are so many great stories out there involving amateur radio and the WIA could act as a clearinghouse for clubs in packaging them up for the professional media channels
Identify the best-of-breed clubs and share their strategies with other clubs wanting to improve their membership, activities and the value they add to their community
Demonstration of the net social benefit this hobby contributes was a reoccurring theme during the meeting
This is just a brief summary of the topics covered within the Club Execs Meeting and the WIA Board will consider and act on these.
The Board thanks all who took the time to come along the Club Execs Gathering and share their experiences.
Page Last Updated: Saturday 22 June 2019 at 8:33 hours by Justin Giles-clark
This hobby has so many diverse aspects - how do we aggregate all these different activities under an umbrella called amateur radio to show the community what a great hobby this is?