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Southern Gold Coast News

BoardConnect Workshops

Posted on April 3rd, 2012 by admin

Development opportunities for the Gold Coast’s non-profit boards
Following Board Connect’s successful residency on the Gold Coast in 2010, they are back on the coast! BoardConnect invites board members and senior staff of Gold Coast arts and other non-profit organisations to come together on Friday 20 April and discuss important issues for non-profit boards, including

  • What are the key ingredients for good governance?
  • How should board members equip themselves to handle the entrepreneurial challenges associated with organisational growth?
  • How can induction and succession planning help a board reach its potential?

Also, you’ll need to be quick to take advantage of the Board Clinics: just you and your board working with David Fishel for an hour and a half on your organisation’s particular questions and issues. There are only two of these sessions available.

WORKSHOPS – Friday 20 April
7.30-9.00am       Workshop 1: Essential principles of governance
12.30-2:00pm Workshop 2: Developing Entrepreneurial Skills on the Board
4:30-6:00pm Workshop 3: Board Induction and Succession Planning

All sessions are held at Bond University.  Workshop sessions are $55 (incl. GST) each including refreshments, or register for all three and pay only $150 (incl GST).

BOARD CLINICS – Friday 20 April
10.00-11.30am                 Board Clinic 1
2.30-4.00pm                      Board Clinic 2
Board Clinics are $275 (incl. GST).
Click here for more information about the Residency and to register.

For all other enquiries, please contact Sara at BoardConnect:
Ph. 07 3891 2599
Email:  admin@boardconnect.com.au
Web:  www.boardconnect.com.au

Proudly sponsored by Bond University’s Faculty of Business and Office of Development & External Relations.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Bleach* Surfing the Fringe hailed a success

Posted on April 3rd, 2012 by admin

The first of its kind for the region, Bleach* Surfing the Fringe highlighted creative pursuits inspired by surf culture with a festival program that spanned fifty five events staged over sixteen consecutive days across ten kilometres of coastline. The festival incorporated contemporary live music performances, pop up art galleries housed in shipping containers, a street party, art projections on iconic landmarks, fashion events and more. Bleach* was bookended by existing major surf events The Breaka Burleigh Pro and the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro.

Economic statistics complied during Bleach* by Destination Research & Development highlight a total of $1.74 million in visitor expenditure across the duration of the festival, a figure we hope to build upon further in coming years as the event solidifies its place as a major fixture on the Queensland events calendar. The media exposure received by the event topped its economic impact – estimated at $1.9 million.

Close to 30,000 people attended the festival over its sixteen day tenure. Festival Director Louise Bezzina was overwhelmed by the response to Bleach* in its opening year. “The festival has been hailed as a great success by the local community as well as the visitors who attended the Festival.  It was extremely well received, and really put the Southern Gold Coast on the cultural map.”

Ms Bezzina stressed the importance of Bleach* to the local community and its impact on creative industries, surfing-related businesses and hospitality venues in the region. “Bleach* strives to provide employment and professional development opportunities for local artists.  The Festival showcases the creativity of the Gold Coast and the uniqueness of the area to a national and international audience.”

Festival organisers aim to run Bleach* in a similar format in 2013, but thanks to input from stakeholders and the public have identified areas of improvement to assist future festival growth.  “We will consolidate the visual arts and gallery program and look at enhancing the successful event components in 2013.  We will also review some of the boutique, pop up style events and look at raising more funding to ensure the festival has a greater impact nationally and internationally. The 2013 Festival will focus on greater artist collaboration between local and interstate artists,” Ms Bezzina said.

Chairman of Connecting Southern Gold Coast, Murray D’Almeida, said “The success of the this innovative initiative exceeded all expectations and the confidence of the Gold Coast City Council in supporting this economic driver and cultural Festival as well as out sponsors and volunteers was vindicated by the outstanding acclaim the event received locally and nationally.”

Festival organisers wish to thank attendees, sponsors, media partners, volunteers, artists and staff for their commitment to ensuring Bleach* enjoyed outstanding success in its opening year.

2012 Bleach* Surfing the Fringe Festival Statistics:

-       The inaugural Bleach* Festival ran from 11 Feb – 26 Feb 2012

-       The Festival program ran for 16 days and included 55 events from a range of disciplines including:

  • Lifestyle
  • Film
  • Photography
  • Visual Arts
  • Theatre
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • Music

-       The Festival covered 10 kilometres of coastline from Currumbin – Coolangatta with offshoots in Burleigh Heads (Breaka Burleigh Pro) and Surfers Paradise at the Arts Centre Gold Coast

-       Over 500 pieces of art and surf photographs were exhibited across 11 shipping containers, galleries and empty shops

-       More than 168 artists from both visual arts and performing arts showcased their work

-       The Festival had 60 volunteers

-       58 Sponsors, Government Partners and Supporters

-       45 pieces of art work were sold during the Festival – 0% commission was taken by the Festival

-       Close to 30,000 people attended Bleach over the 16 day period with several of the in-venue events selling out.  These include:

  • Sway on Sunset – Komune
  • Tijuana Cartel – The SoundLounge
  • The Surfer and The Mermaid – Surf World Gold Coast and The Arts Centre

-       The Festival received national and international media coverage, including a story profiling Bleach* and several artists broadcast online through the Quiksilver Pro webcast with a world-wide audience of 6 million people.

-       Bleach* and The Arts Centre Gold Coast is in negotiations with an independent Theatre Company in Sydney about the on-selling of The Surfer and The Mermaid, a local production commissioned and produced by Bleach* and The Arts Centre Gold Coast.

-       Visitor expenditure across the duration of the festival was $1.74 million

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Posted in Economic Development, Newsletters, Projects, SGC Events & Festivals, SGC News, SGC Success Spolight, SGC Tourism Promotion | No Comments »

Southern Cross University

Posted on April 2nd, 2012 by admin

School of Tourism and Hospitality Management

A degree from Southern Cross University’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Management  can help you develop the leadership and business skills you need to succeed wherever your career takes you.

Choose from the extensive range of specialist undergraduate and postgraduate courses in tourism, hospitality and gaming. Study options are flexible and courses can be completed at our new campus on the Gold Coast or via distance education.

For undergraduate courses, you may be eligible to receive credit for previous study, qualifications or industry experience, which can significantly reduce the 24-unit Bachelor degree study time.

If you have more than five years’ professional experience, you may even be eligible to enrol in a Masters degree, without having completed any undergraduate study. The Masters courses are 12- unit courses that can be completed in as little as two years on a part-time basis, based on two units each trimester.

Course fees are not as expensive as you may think and if your course is related to your role, study costs may be tax deductible.

For further information or to discuss study opportunities, please visit www.scu.edu.au/studytourism or contact Simon Black at the School of Tourism & Hospitality Management at simon.black@scu.edu.au

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Posted in Economic Development, Education, Newsletters, SGC News | No Comments »

Changes at CSGC

Posted on April 2nd, 2012 by admin

You may have heard recently that there has been some changes at CSGC.

For those of you who are not aware, Jim Wilson recently left the organisation to persue other interests.

We would like to thank Jim for the tireless passion he displayed for the Southern Gold Coast region during his 3years as general manager.

In light of the coming GCCC elections at the end of this month, CSGC’s Board of Directors will be making a decision in the coming months about advertising the position. Those of you who may be interested in the role, keep your ears peeled in June/July for more information.

In the meantime, Rachael Cannard will be caretaking in the role of operations manager. Rachael has been with CSGC since it’s inception  in 2008. If you have any enquiries, please contact Rachael on 0755 343 500.

This means that it’s business as usual at CSGC, onwards and upwards for the Southern Gold Coast!

Posted in Newsletters, SGC News | No Comments »

Imagine the Future

Posted on February 23rd, 2012 by admin

The northern facing beaches of the southern Gold Coast are perhaps some Queensland’s most vibrant, abundant, and beautiful.
As we plan for a strong and prosperous tomorrow, we invite you to imagine the future for our community.

If you own property, live, work or play in Rainbow Bay, Coolangatta or Kirra, we want to know what you love about this area, what you
wish you could change and what would make our community even better.

This is your chance to play a part in shaping our region’s future, so it remains a place that locals love to live and visitors will never forget.
Creating a “vision” of the future Together we’re creating a “vision” of how we imagine the future of the southern Gold Coast should be.

Our vision will be our road map for the future; a bold statement of how we want our community to look and feel.

Read more here

How do you get involved?

Join the conversation! Join our Facebook group facebook.com/groups/imagine.southgc

Send us an email imagine.southgc@groups.facebook.com

Join us at Community Gatherings
Kirra Hill Community and Cultural Centre
5.00 - 7.00pm
Monday 5 March | IMAGINE Rainbow Bay
Tuesday 6 March | IMAGINE Coolangatta
Wednesday 7 March | IMAGINE Kirra

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Posted in Economic Development, SGC News, SGC Tourism Promotion, environment | No Comments »

Gold Coast Products

Posted on February 6th, 2012 by admin

We found this post on Business GC’s website and wanted to ensure our design and manufacturing businesses are aware of this new website…

An exciting new initiative supported by Business Gold Coast is the website www.goldcoastproducts.com.au

The purpose of the site is to showcase products that are manufactured or designed in our region. The project is in association with Stuart Kerr, who has been working with manufacturing companies on the Gold Coast for the last four years.

The site has already attracted almost 100 companies, with numbers expected to exceed 300 by early next year. There are plans to instigate a range of promotions, events, media coverage and initiatives during 2012 to ensure manufacturers gain maximum local, national and international exposure.

Innovation plays a major role, with many of our local companies developing world renowned products ranging from cosmetics to software. There are almost 3,000 manufacturers on the Gold Coast, generating an estimated $3b annually. The range of products is enormous, and can be generally classified into the following categories:

  • Food & Beverages
  • Clothing & Textiles
  • Engineering & Mining
  • Metals & Plastics
  • Health & Medical
  • Sports & Fitness
  • IT & Communications
  • Creative Arts & Design
  • Automotive & Transport
  • Marine & Water Sports
  • Energy & Environment

We encourage you to visit www.goldcoastproducts.com.au for more information.

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Posted in Projects, SGC News, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Board Positions – Expressions of Interest

Posted on February 6th, 2012 by admin

Connecting Southern Gold Coast Ltd

The Gold Coast City Council (GCCC)  intends to advertise for Expressions of Interest from persons interested in filling Board positions on Connecting Southern Gold Coast Ltd (CSGC) , located at Tugun. CSGC is a ‘controlled entity’ of GCCC.

These advertisements will appear in the Business Section of the Gold Coast Bulletin on Friday 10th February and Friday 17th February, with an application closing date of 29th February 2012.  For further details, post the 10 February advertisement, interested parties should contact Mr Stephen Bowden, Office of CEO GCCC, via email on sbowden@goldcoast.qld.gov.au or phone 5581 6482

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Posted in Economic Development, Newsletters, SGC News | No Comments »

TQ Resource Centre

Posted on February 6th, 2012 by admin

Do you know how search engine optimisation can increase your web traffic or how Facebook, Twitter and TripAdvisor can grow your business? Is your product bookable online? TQ’s Digital Ready Program can help with all of this and more, with its range of fully subsidised opportunities:

1. Book a phone coaching session with a TQ Digital Coach: The Coaches can answer all your digital marketing questions and talk you through things such as how to improve your web site, how to choose an online booking system, what is search engine marketing and much more. Book your session now - contact 07 3535 5800 or digitalcoach@tq.com.au

2. Book in for a Digital Workshop or mentoring session: These will be delivered in locations around Queensland throughout the program. Upcoming opportunities will be advertised here and in Tourism on Q The workshops will be based on the below 7 modules.

  1. Web Basics
  2. Be Bookable Online
  3. Increase Your Website Traffic
  4. Planning Your online strategy (Overview will be available soon)
  5. Social Media Basics (Overview will be available soon)
  6. Advanced Social Media (Overview will be available soon)
  7. Digital Marketing for the China Market (Overview will be available soon)

TQ’s The Wiz is an easy to use tool that will help you identify a few Online Booking Systems that are relevant to your business by taking you through a few simple steps. Check out The Wiz.

You can find out more here

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Posted in BusinessTips, Education, Newsletters | No Comments »

More Fun – 4 in 1 Pass

Posted on February 6th, 2012 by admin

More Fun 4 in 1 Pass gives you access for 4 great attractions one one little Southern Gold Coast street that packs a lot of punch!

You get access to:

1. Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

2. Green Challenge Adventure Parc

3. SuperBee HoneyWorld & Honey Show

4. Surf World Gold Coast

Adults $49 (save $19), Seniors & Students $40 save $19 & Children $31 save $13

Valid to 31 March 2013 – Book at www.cws.org.au

1. Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary includes amazing Australian wildlife encounters, Aboriginal performances and Wildlife Hospital precinct. Where else can you cuddle a koala, experience wild Lorikeet Feeding, see an amazing Wildlife Shows, and feed Kangaroos.

2. Green Challenge Adventure Parc – an exhilarating tree-tops ropes course (zip line). Sixty-five challenges, over four separate courses, weave their way through the eucalypt and rainforest canopy, taking visitors higher and further into the spectacular natural setting.

3. SuperBee HoneyWorld – visitors experience the bewildering wonders of the world of bees, as they witness the amazing process from flower to flavour. See the bees producing honey in the hive, and watch in awe as bee keepers explain and demonstrate how it all happens, from the beehive to the jar.

4. Surf World Gold Coast – a collection of over 100 surfboards dating from 1915 to the present day plus photos, artwork, clothing and other artefacts.

General information

Pensioner & student (ID must be presented on arrival).  Child (4-14 years inclusive).

Green Challenge information – Guests must reach 160cm from heels to middle of both outstretched hands to enter the Green Challenge and 180 cm for the advanced, Extreme Green Challenge.

All necessary equipment and a safety briefing are provided for each participant, ensuring a safe, fun and exhilarating experience.

Opening Times: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary 8am to 5pm daily, Green Challenge -  Varies Seasonal – check at entrance , SuperBee 9am to 5pm, Sunday 10am to 5pm, Surf World 10am to 5pm daily (times subject to change)

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Posted in Newsletters, SGC News | No Comments »

Jim’s Update

Posted on February 6th, 2012 by admin

Bleach* is your Festival- please market it for the benefit of the Southern Gold Coast

I have mentioned in previous updates how important events and festivals are to our region, for the purposes of promoting the Southern Gold Coast and its natural and cultural assets, so as to attract tourists, and create more jobs for our local residents.

Since our inception over 3 years ago, we have seed funded Kirra Kite Festival (November) and Cooly Rocks On (June). We continue to sponsor these significant Southern Gold Coast events, which are now run by not-for-profit organisations, after we provided the administration to start with. We also sponsor the Swell Sculpture Festival (September.)

As referred to elsewhere in this Newsletter, we have now created Bleach*-surfing the fringe, a surf culture festival which will run from 11 February to 26 February this year, in venues and open spaces from Currumbin to Coolangatta. The objective of this Festival is to celebrate the launch of the Association of Surfing Professional (ASP) World Championship Tour (WCT), the first event of which is held each year under the auspices of the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro, which is conducted at Snapper Rocks, Rainbow Bay, in late February and early March.

Bleach* will showcase our Southern Gold Coast, surf-related, creative industries. Featured will be our Surf World Gold Coast Museum, as well as local artists, musicians, fashionistas, authors, film makers and photographers, to name but a few.

Bleach *will be the largest, continuous cultural festival ever produced on the Gold Coast and its content is receiving rave reviews both nationally and internationally. In this respect it emulates the Sydney Festival, which is a massive, multi-precinct celebration. So, I think we have hit the mark with it, from a regional, tourism promotion perspective.

I encourage you to be an ambassador for the Bleach*Festival by sending a link to the website to all your clients, customers, staff, friends and relatives both local, interstate and overseas   www.bleachfestival.com.au

Likewise, I hope that when the time comes you  will help promote Cooly Rocks On, Swell and Kirra Kite Festival through your networks.

Please enjoy Bleach* and don’t forget to go to the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro, where we will have a display along with the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Surf World Gold Coast Museum, two, major, not-for-profit organisations on the Southern Gold Coast.

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Posted in Economic Development, Newsletters, Projects, Quarterly Reports, SGC Events & Festivals, SGC News, SGC Tourism Promotion | No Comments »

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