Open minds, open opportunities

The 2006 Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia (SEGRA) Conference will be conducted in Launceston, Northern Tasmania from 28-30 August 2006.

"SEGRA 2006 will celebrate regions and highlight their contribution to broader Australia, as well as taking time to examine the challenges in the face of crises, changing demands and ongoing problems and look at ways to adapt. We want delegates to look at problems through different filters and be open to different approaches to create opportunity," director of the SEGRA secretariat, Kate Charters said.

The conference theme "˜Adaptable Regions: open minds open opportunities' focuses on the need for regions to be open to new opportunities, learn from experience, show foresight in planning, and identify and implement the best strategies to advance their region's economic development.

This year's agenda will include:

• Reviewing the current state of play in regional development, looking at where regions want to be;
• Understanding and building organisational and knowledge capacities to change;
• Foreseeing economic, social, environmental and political trends and their implications for regions; enhancing decision-making capacities for effective strategies;
• Building support, alliances and influence;
• Community pride and ownership.

"SEGRA 2006 is about people and organisations being open to new information, new ideas, doing things differently in order to ensure a dynamic future of sustained economic growth for regional Australia," Charters said.

"Because of regional Australia's unique characteristics it is vital for communities to be open to change and new opportunities."

SEGRA 2006 offers practitioners, bureaucrats, academics, private and industry groups the chance to interactively learn and discuss issues relating to sustainable economic growth and development in regional Australia.