TEDxSydney Returns Saturday 26 May 2012 to Carriageworks
TED Curator Chris Anderson to co-host Sydney audition for TED Worldwide Talent Search
1 February 2012: TEDxSydney, the annual ideas event will return in 2012 on Saturday 26 May to Carriageworks, Eveleigh; providing a speaking platform for 20 of Australia’s leading innovators, thinkers, leaders and change makers.
The event will be streamed live to an audience of hundreds of thousands in Australia and overseas via multiple feeds and ABC Radio National will also broadcast from the event, showcasing and broadcasting many of the sessions.
Further details about TEDxSydney, including the speaker line-up, will be announced shortly. Applications for a Bay 17 Carriageworks auditorium ticket will open in March 2012, submitted via the
TEDxSydney.com website.
This year a separate TED event will take place on Sunday 27 May featuring the Sydney leg of the
TED Worldwide Auditions, a global talent search which promises to bring together a remarkable lineup for TED2013 in Long Beach California - the theme for which is "The Young. The Wise. The Undiscovered." The live audition will be hosted by TED Curator Chris Anderson & TED Content Director Kelly Stoetzel along with TEDxSydney Licensee Remo Giuffré.
About TED Worldwide Auditions:
From April to June, TED will hold public auditions in 14 cities on six continents seeking to uncover the new talents, voices and ideas the world needs to hear. For the first time, the entire TED community will have a chance to vote on the most promising presenters. Many of these will be invited to join TED as speakers with at least half of the TED2013 Longbeach program selected that way.
TED Curator Chris Anderson says: “As with every TED, we will weave together a potent mix of presentations, covering creativity, invention, business, science and the most pressing global issues. But the way we're doing it represents a leap of ambition, and a commitment to the power of the crowd. At least half of our line-up will come from these auditions. And we will invite you and others around the world to cast your votes on who gets invited.”
What is the process to audition for TED Worldwide?
There will be an online application process, which will open separately for each city, at least two months before the audition. Sydney applications will open on 19 March 2012. Applicants will be encouraged to include a short video of themselves. Anyone can apply to audition, so long as they have not spoken at a TED Conference, and do not have a talk posted on TED.com.
TED are on the hunt to uncover:
THE INVENTOR - sharing an innovation with world-changing potential
THE TEACHER - sharing valuable knowledge in a memorable way, to teenagers or adults
THE PRODIGY - young talent ready to break out
THE ARTIST - who can showcase their work in a compelling, new way
THE PERFORMER - music, dance, comedy, drama… or something entirely different
THE SAGE - wisdom the world needs from those who have learned it the hard way
THE ENTHUSIAST - with an infectious passion about a topic they can share
THE CHANGE-AGENT - helping shape the world's future with work that matters
THE STORY-TELLER - vivid, original, meaningful ... with a talent for connection
THE SPARK - with a powerful idea worth spreading
But, according to the team at TED: "Product-hawkers, jargon-junkies, dullards, wafflers, motivator wannabes, self-promoters, spouters of new-age fluff should not apply."
Further info: http://conferences.ted.com/TED2013/auditions
Media Enquiries: Fleur Brown: +61 419 270 863, e: fleur@launchgroup.com.au
About TEDxSydney: TEDxSydney is licensed by longtime TEDster, Remo Giuffré (REMO General Store) and is being organised by a voluntary network of fellow thinkers and other long time collaborators. For the 3rd year running, the Executive Producer for 2012 is Curator Janne Ryan and the Event Director is David Glover. For a full listing of 2012 organisers visit http://TEDxSydney.com
 TEDxSydney is made possible by the generous contribution of its partners, sponsors and volunteers. Major partners for TEDxSydney 2011 include Founding Partner the ABC, with significant production support from Carriageworks. The full line-up of partners and sponsors will be announced shortly.

About TEDx: In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organised events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organised TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organised.
About TED: TED is a nonprofit organisation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 26 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. At TED, the world's leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Benoit Mandelbrot, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Two major TED events are held each year: The TED Conference takes place every spring in Long Beach, California (along with a parallel conference, TEDActive, in Palm Springs), and TEDGlobal is held each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland.
For information about TED's upcoming conferences, visit http://www.ted.com/registration
Follow TED on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/TED
Hear Sir Richard Branson speak about carbon and its effects at the Creating Clmate Wealth Summit 2011 in Sydney in collaboration with his Carbon War Room.
Speech and Question time are available:
http://www.launchgroup.com.au/branson/speech.mp3
http://www.launchgroup.com.au/branson/questions.mp3
Launch Group proudly supports the launch of the new interactive donation widget for the Adult Survivors of Child Abuse (ASCA).
Launch Group proudly supports the launch of Adults Surviving Child Abuse (ASCA) new interactive donation widget.
ASCA is the key Australian body advancing the needs of two million adult Australian's who have experienced child abuse, and a further eight million who are indirectly affected by it. With the launch of their new donation widget, Australian's can "Help ASCA save lives" by donating and raising vital funds to further their vital work with survivors.
For more information visit www.asca.org.au
Support White Balloon Day - Tuesday 7th September
AUSSIES TO WEAR WHITE, FLY A WHITE BALLOON, DONATE
TO HELP PROTECT OUR KIDS FROM SEXUAL HARM
With over 1,000 children sexually assaulted in Australia every week, leading child protection advocacy group Bravehearts is calling on Australians to wear white and donate on September 7, White Balloon Day to help protect children and break the silence surrounding child sexual harm.
This year’s event marks the 14th annual national awareness and fundraising campaign, for ‘White Balloon Day.’ Staged during Child Protection Week (Sep 5th – 11th), the humble white balloon has become synonymous with child protection and this special day has evolved into Braveheart’s signature national event.
Queensland Police called White Balloon Day a ‘phenomenon’ after they recorded a staggering 514% increase in disclosures about child sexual assault during the White Balloon Day campaign period in 1999 - not long after the initiative was established. This significant increase demonstrates that awareness and support are fundamental to help ‘break the silence’ about child sexual assault and to help prevent other cases from occurring.
Bravehearts Founder and Executive Director, Mrs Hetty Johnston is encouraging Australians to rally behind the cause to help more Australian children and their carers get the support they need.
“Show Australia’s kids that you care; help us teach children that child sexual assault is never their fault, that it’s all right to say no and we will believe and support them. By supporting White Balloon Day you are demonstrating that our nation has zero tolerance toward those who would harm our children,” said Mrs Johnston.
White Balloon Day is a day of recognition, awareness and support for the victims of child sexual assault and the principle fundraising initiative which enables Bravehearts to educate, empower and protect all Aussie kids.
White Balloon Day is supported by the ‘Celebrities that Say No’ campaign. Bravehearts celebrity ambassadors include Anthony Mundine, Angry Anderson, Phil Gould, Craig Lowndes, Mick Doohan, Rachael Birmingham, Laura Vesquez (Home & Away), Rebekah Elmaloglou (Home & Away), Shane Webcke (former Brisbane Bronco) and Carla Bonner (Neighbours) – all of whom who have come together to show support for the need to protect all Australian children.
How can Australians Participate in White Balloon Day?
It’s simple: Wear white, Buy a balloon, Donate
Visit
www.whiteballoonday.com.au to find out all the ways you can contribute!
For media enquires contact Annabelle Page - ph: 02 9492 1034/ m: 0421 755 016 annabelle@launchgroup.com.au
Fleur Brown talks Events:
Launch CEO Fleur Brown spoke at the 2009 Australian Event Awards Master Class on using social media.
"Getting the balance right - how to integrate your social media plans into your marketing and communications big picture"
Social media opens up a world of new communication possibilities, but how do you ensure your social media approach aligns with your overall marketing and communications strategy – rather than hijacking the show? Fleur shows how to create a plan which supports your marketing big picture - relating social media strategy back to key communication areas such as:
- Overall brand & positioning
- Communication targets
- Publicity & Media relations
- Stakeholder relations (including sponsor & client communication)
- Managing complaints and queries
- Issues & Crisis management
Download Fleur’s talk here:
www.cushycms.com/temporary_uploads/70121/getting the balance rightFINAL.pdf
Or Visit the website:
http://www.eventawards.com.au/2009/master_class.htm
Elephant Pepper
Elephants hate Chilli
For the past two years, Launch has provided pro bono public relations for Australian social entrepreneur, Mike Gravina, and his Elephant Pepper project. This amazing project operates in the African countries of Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Kenya, and helps with the conservation of African elephants as well as providing many Africans with a sustainable income and access to global export markets.
The Elephant Pepper project uses a surprising ingredient - chilli peppers – to reduce elephant / human conflict and generate revenue for the local farmers. We believe this project is testament to the power of the ‘trade, not aid’ approach changing the financial outlook for many rural Africans. You can help Elephant Pepper to create new economic opportunities for rural Africans and support efforts to safely reduce the conflict surrounding elephants and humans in Africa by purchasing Elephant Pepper chilli products.
To Learn More Visit: http://www.elephantpepper.com/
Read more below from journalist Heidi Krause of the Reader’s Digest..
Buzzword
What is a Social Entrepeneur?
"Society's change agent: pioneer of innovations that benefit humanity"
Jeff Skoll, Skoll Foundation
Top Floor
ORPHANED PROJECT GIVES VOICE TO THE WORLD'S FORGOTTEN GENERATION OF 143 MILLION CHILDREN
22nd January 2009, San Diego: American photojournalist and author Don Mirra and cause marketing specialists, The Launch Group, today announced the ORPHANED Project, a global awareness campaign with an associated book and documentary film initiative that documents orphaned children around the world.
The ORPHANED project is the first initiative of its kind to bring a voice to the growing demographic of 143 MILLION orphaned and marginalized children - imparting the need for capable people to get involved rather than exist as by-standers to the tragedy.
"The growing global demographic of Orphans is an issue that needs international attention and urgent action," said Mirra. "The statistics are unthinkable to those who believe all children, regardless of race, religion or economic circumstance, should have a right to love and a humane existence. Every Hour 5760 children become Orphans and 1,667 under 5 die from malnutrition and preventable diseases. But beyond the numbers and the sheer scale of the tragedy, the real challenge is those of us in privileged and developed nations to see the common human story amidst the tragedy; to appreciate the equal value of any human life".
Launch Group CEO, Fleur Brown said: "The images and cinematography in the Orphaned project give a view beyond the stereotype of poor people in undeveloped countries to highlight the beauty, hopes and dreams of the individual child. We aim to make the terrible viewable - to help the viewer to emotionally connect with these children, and to feel stirred into action.
http://www.orphanedproject.com
http://au.youtube.com/user/orphanedproject
Further information: Fleur@launchgroup.com.au or donmirra@mac.com
Aussie Teens Message to Future Employers;
Don't discriminate, I put happiness ahead of money,
My parents are my career advisors
20th, November 2008: A national survey of more than 2,000 Australians aged 13 to 18 years has revealed that the spirit of egalitarianism runs deep with Australian teenagers who consider the absence of workplace discrimination as the second only to happiness on the job when it comes to selecting their future employer.
The findings are part of an annual Careers survey of 2,273 Australians aged 13 to 18 years released today by Habbo (www.habbo.com.au), the preferred online playground for Australian teenagers with almost a third of Australian teens as regular users.
Almost half (47%) of the teen respondents said 'career enjoyment' was their primary goal, with 40% selecting the absence of discrimination based on race, gender or sexuality was vital in their choice of employer. 'Earning a lot of money' ranked a distant third - with only 16% of respondents indicating that this is important in their choice of employer or career. The ability to work their way to the top of a company received a favourable response by only 13% of respondents, and "having a positive impact on an issue that affects all Australians" was nominated as important by 9% of teens surveyed.
Other key findings from the Habbo teen survey include:
- 32% of respondents said parents are the main influence on their career choice, 18% said friends.
- 81% of respondents said they don�t feel pressured to choose a career
- 37% think 'willingness to learn' is the most important attribute employers are looking for, followed by qualifications (24%), and work experience (19%).
- 44% of respondents said that they would attend university after school, 20% said they would study and work at the same time, 11% were unsure and 10% said they would go to TAFE.
- 30% of respondents believed they would only have one career, 31% were unsure yet, 23% said two and 8% said as many as they could.
- 34% of respondents wanted to own their own business someday, 42% were unsure and 24% did not want to.
- 58% of respondents said their careers were very important to them, 39% thought careers were 'important' and 2% thought they were not so important.
Jeff Brookes, Regional Director Asia Pacific, Sulake, explains, �The annual Habbo Careers Survey provides powerful insight into the deciding factors around teenager�s career choices, the importance they place on careers and what they look for in employers. The results highlight differences between the current 13 to 18 year olds when compared to Generation Y. You could say this next generation is more like "Generation Equality" and they value their parent's opinions over money when it comes to choosing their careers. They are also quite down to earth, identifying their ultimate career goal as enjoying their work rather than earning a lot of money, becoming famous or working their way to the top of a company which are more typical choices by previous generations.
"There are currently 810,000 Australian teenagers aged between 13 and 18 years of age and 260, 000 of them use Habbo. We decided to conduct this survey to reveal some of the misconceptions that the younger generations held similar values and morals. We will continue to poll our users to help provide a greater understanding of Generation Equality", said Brookes.
Female (49%) and male (51%) Habbo users were polled about their attitudes to careers and how these were developed, what career paths they would take, what mattered to them when choosing a career or company to work for and their career goals. Public school students represented 67% of the responses, private school students represented 30% and 3% were home schooled.
For more information please contact:
Emily Venardos
E: emily@launchgroup.com.au
Australia's Favourite Teen Playground Chooses Launch
Habbo after appoints Launch Group after competitive pitch.
06 August 2008: The world's largest virtual world for teenagers, Habbo Australia, will be increasing its profile in the Australian and New Zealand market in the coming twelve months and has awarded its public relations account to the Launch Group (Launch), after a competitive pitch.
Established in 2004 by Sulake, Habbo Australia is a combination of a teen virtual world and a social networking online game where Habbos (
virtual representations of members), socialise, play games and create user-generated content. Globally, Habbo is one of the world's largest virtual game sites with 100 million registered Habbos across 31 communities and countries (Source: Sulake Statistics March 2008) Most (70%) of Habbo's users are aged 13-16 years, equally distributed between girls and boys.
Launch CEO Fleur Brown said she was excited to add Habbo to Launch's client portfolio. "Habbo is a unique account, and a leading brand in Australia for teens, who are emerging as a sought-after and generally advertising-astute demographic. We look forward to delving deeper into Habbo's innovative teen research, and communicating some of the insights around this elusive but powerful demographic. "
"We're looking forward to pushing traditional boundaries and presenting some groundbreaking non-traditional public relations work with Habbo, particularly in the digital arena,"
Sulake Regional Director, Asia Pacific, Jeff Brookes said he was attracted to Launch because of the fresh, insightful ideas presented. "We met with several Sydney PR agencies and thought that Launch Group were head and shoulders above the others in the market. Launch stood out because they think outside the box and are full of cost-effective ideas that I know will work. They also understand the nuances of communicating in the digital world, as well as traditional media. Their boutique size and agility is also an attractive quality, as I know ideas won't be caught up in the approval line. We are confident that the Launch Group will significantly raise our profile in both the B2B and consumer arenas."
Launch Group Training
Understanding Social Media - Coaching Program
Beth Powell, Launch business communications consultant and trainer, has developed a new coaching program to assist executives and managers to understand the social media. The coaching is being offered as a public course, a customised program for up to 6 participants from a single organisation or an individual coaching program.
It is clear that despite its growing impact on everyday business outcomes, the world of online communications remains a confusing and jargonistic environment. Is your website up-to-date? How relevant are social media such as blogs, Facebook and wikis to your everyday business outcomes? Should your staff be using them? How can you capitalize on the best of online communication - safely and cost-effectively?
These questions prompted the development of a simple coaching program to demystify this area. The training is tailored to your needs and level of understanding and delivered in plain English. There is no need to be technically experienced to take part - in fact the opposite. See our brochure on the Internet and Social Media Coaching Program below.
The Public courses are being offered in Sydney on 5th August and in Melbourne 2nd Sept. Early bird offers and available.
We are also offering a discount for organisations who book a customised program for July and August 2008. Don't miss out, book your place or contact us for further information. See the brochure here.
PR Firm keen to taste the Big Apple
B & T Magazine, December 2007
Boutique PR firm Launch Group has expanded to London and Singapore, with plans to break into the New York market within a year. Fleur Brown, founder and director of the four-year-old-agency, said its global expansion is a result of new and existing clients looking to stretch offshore. The agency has won several pieces of business over the last month, four of which are yet to be revealed. It has been handed the national and UK brief for the Alcohol Education & Rehabilitation Foundation which encompassers community education and government relations. Existing clients looking to use Launch's services overseas include Alpha One, Peter Sheahan and Janellis. The other wins yet to be disclosed include a global national direct mail company, which will be launching a new service in February. It has also picked up the accounts for a new finance company "with a property focus", a major transportation company, and the global business for a reputation management business which will launch in January. Read the full article from B and T Magazine here.
Online is anyone's domain
Marketing Magazine Digital Survival Guide - September 2007 Issue
The digital revolution has given the Public Relations industry its first real opportunity in decades to re-invent itself "if it moves swiftly" and to shift from content brokers to content creators writes Fleur Brown.
We're a cheerful bunch in the Public Relations industry; yet it's not easy to remain poised and persuasive whilst enduring years of mindless prattle about your profession.
"What is it you do again? You're so lucky to go to all those glamorous events."
Not everyone in our industry gets relegated to the air kissing, champagne swilling set. There's also the corporate PR-stereotype who is considered part media guard-dog, part media broker. This person "knows everyone" including a journalist mate you need to speak to about your big profile story, or the "fix it guy" who can rescue you from a painful media expose. The assumption being that it's always 'who' rather than what we know that will secure a client outcome.
It's not that we're not good at what we do - our clients know on an instinctive level that we make a necessary and powerful contribution to their business. But asking them to describe what we do for them can be a real conversation killer. Read the full article here
Calls for energy star rating system for IT products as part of a green ICT industry policy
August 2007: The Australian Computer Society (ACS), the nation's peak professional body for the ICT sector, today delivered Australia's first ICT carbon emissions audit, revealing that ICT use by Australian businesses generated 7.94 million tonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide in 2005, which is the close equivalent to the civil aviation and the metal production Industries.
For the full release, please click here.
Bravehearts and Myspace Australia announce alliance
May 07: The world's most popular social networking site, MySpace today announced a ground-breaking partnership with Australia's leading child protection advocate, Bravehearts. The project, which has been in development for months, has been aptly named -Respect MySpace- in an effort to provide education and support to their millions of users online.
ACS Year Strategic Vision for Australia's Information and Communications Technology sector
May 07: In an Australian first, initiated and directed by the ACS within NICTIA (National ICT Industry Alliance), a 10 year strategic vision was launched for development of the Australian information and communications technology (ICT) industry. The document articulates a 10 year vision for Australia that will nurture and enhance an environment conducive to innovation, which underpins Australia's economic prosperity.
VEDA Advantage - Dealing with Debt
May 07: Individuals on the road to bankruptcy begin to display warning signs 18 months prior to declaring, a Veda Advantage study based around the credit behaviour of more than 30 000 Australians has revealed. According to the study those heading for bankruptcy register 48 times more defaults than non bankrupt people in the six months prior to bankruptcy. Consumers are also five times more likely to apply for a personal loan in the six to twelve month period prior to bankruptcy.
AER/ Fresh Party - Social experiment keeps crowd high and dry.
April 07: In a world-first, the AER Foundation launched its FRESH Party concept at the Hordern Pavilion on April 14 to a throng of 3000+ 18-30 year-old partygoers. FRESH Party is a social experiment that was conceived to combat the growing problem of binge drinking amongst Gen Y. Arriving at the end of the drug and alcohol-fraught outdoor festival season, FRESH Party presents a healthy alternative to the standard day party shenanigans. Offering a star-studded line-up of musical performances, celebrities guests, a world-class fashion show and a range of interactive multimedia elements such a Mambo's Make Your Own T-Shirt booth and destra Media�s NICE SHORTS film screening, FRESH Party guests were treated to four hours of non-stop action on the stage and throughout the venue. The message on the day is not to become a teetotaller; it is simply that binge drinking is ugly, harmful and unnecessary for a good time.