April eNews
Out and About in South East Queensland
Running through the heart of Brisbane, the picturesque river is the lungs of the city. On both sides of the Brisbane River, extensive pedestrian walkways pass through city parks full of picnickers, cyclist and joggers, while the lit up Kangaroo Cliffs are a popular place for night time rock climbing. In a few spots, mangrove trees grow on the river bank, their elaborate roots always immersed in the water. City Cat ferries glide across the tidal waters of the river and provide a pleasant vantage point from which to observe life in Brisbane. Nestled in one bend of the river, lies the central business district, while on the other side the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) and the performing arts complex front the river at South Bank. – Eliza Morawska, Member of the ANZOC
Early Registration has Closed
Early-bird registration for the 2012 Healthy Buildings Conference closed on Friday the 13th April 2012. Regular registration is still open. Please see the Registration page for more details on registration fees and inclusions.
Accommodation can also be booked as part of the registration process. Information on the hotels being offered can be found on the accommodation page. Accommodation is filling fast so make sure you book soon.
Sight-Seeing Companions
Are you thinking of spending some extra time in Australia before or after the conference to see the sights? If you are interested in seeing if other delegates might be keen to join with you and make it more of an informal travelling group, please leave a comment here and we can put you in touch with other keen explorers.
Update on the Program: Message from the President of HB2012
With just under three months left to the conference, and with many of you busy preparing your presentations and posters, booking tickets and accommodations or examining the map of Australia to chose among the many fascinating places to visit, I would like to draw you attention for a moment to the technical program of the conference and the exciting shape it is taking.
Papers – Firstly, the over 600 papers submitted papers, covering a broad spectrum of topics relevant to the conference are being organised into up to eight parallel sessions to take place through each part of the three and a half days of the conference. Please see the conference program at a glance, already available from our website.
Keynote Speakers – Secondly, we have seven excellent plenary speakers, coming from around the world, who are enthusiastic to share with us their knowledge. We will see some familiar faces, but will also have the opportunity to expand our horizons by listening to the presentations on three key topics, chosen based on recommendations from the International Advisory Committee and the Asian Steering Committee of the conference. The topics include: (1) Balance of Power: Energy Conservation versus Indoor Environment Quality; (2) Race Against Time: Population, Urban Growth and Miracles of Innovation; and (3) Infection spread: Will breathing kill you?
Workshops – And thirdly, we have planned many interactive workshops and panel discussions, to ensure that the conference participants have plenty of opportunities for being part of expert conversations rather than only listening to the experts. In response to our call last year we have received close to 40 workshop proposals – much more than the number of the workshops which we were able to accommodate during the conference. Some of the authors have agreed to join forces and to combine their proposals in cases of similar topics, and are now working on their workshop outlines. The Program Committee has prepared a preliminary workshop program and is available from the website.
Also already on the website, are programs of the panel discussions which will take place within the scope of the three Symposia of the conference. These events are an integral part of the conference, but can also be attractive to those who have interest in one specific aspect, and therefore opt to participate in just one of the conference days. Over the last few weeks, the chairs of the panels have initiated discussion amongst the panellists to identify the key elements around which the discussions will be centred during the conference. These and some background material for each of the panels will start appearing on the conference website within the next few weeks and will be available to the participants well in advance of the conference.
I very much hope that you will find the program of the conference as interesting and stimulating as I am finding all the preparations for it and the many discussions which have already started to culminate during the conference!
Lidia Morawska
President, Healthy Buildings 2012
The Healthy Buildings Conference 2012 now has a LinkedIn Group. The conference organisers are keen to provide as much opportunity as possible for delegates to connect and network in their areas of interest.
