TALK IT UP 2024

This is not another conference. This is an Unconference

About

We’re back and this year we’re breaking free of the Mighty Waikato and taking Talk It Up to the South Island for the first time – Ōtautahi / Christchurch to be exact.

When

Lock in Thursday 17 October - Friday 18 October 2024

Where

Riccarton Park, Christchurch

How much

Tickets just $250 plus GST with an optional ½ day workshop for only $100 plus GST

Where do I sign up

About

unconference

Talk It Up is not another conference.
This is an Unconference.

Think peer-to-peer learning at its best, in an exciting, dynamic and inspiring environment

Who is Talk It Up for?

Anyone who wants to improve how government or your business engages with communities.

If you work in

Communications
Community Engagement
Policy
Community Strategy
Project Management

TIU’s for you!

How do we do it?

Unlike other conferences, there is no set programme at Talk It Up.

It will be one and a half days of high energy learning, including workshops with two dynamic leaders in community engagement.

The agenda is set by the attendees on the day – instead of having speakers on pre-organised topics, the attendees spend the first couple of hours pitching session topics that they want to discuss.

Everyone then chooses the sessions they want to attend and are actively involved in the topics and discussion.

It’s not about fancy slides - there are none - it’s about genuine connections and knowledge exchange.

Right now we have no idea what will be covered at this year’s event – except that it will be dynamic and inspiring.

People who attended TIU have described it as the best conference they’ve ever been to - an invaluable experience.

Tickets are limited and already in hot demand. So, get in quickly and register your spot.

Meanwhile, join Talk it Up on Facebook or Linkedin as momentum builds for the big day.

Anchor 1

Workshops

About the ½ day workshops

On day two (Friday 18 October), you can choose to go to one of two workshops with an engagement expert. These are an additional $100 (+GST).

We’ll have more information on these shortly.

Kerri Price

Engaging the Not-Yet-Engaged

Revisit the fundamentals of community engagement, explore innovative ways to engage with diverse community and learn how to design out-of-the-box engagement for your community. This workshop will get you excited again about connecting with everyone in your community. If we want to engage diverse communities, we need to engage in interesting and diverse ways. Discover a range of activities you can adapt for your own situation including walkshops, pop-ups, play-stations, installations and more.

More about Kerri

Kerri is a facilitator and experience designer who has been working within the community and public sector for 25 years.

She has experience facilitating a wide range of workshops with diverse groups and knows there is more to community engagement than flipcharts and post-it notes. She is passionate about fostering generous engagement with all our communities and believes there's no such thing as a one-size fits all approach.

Her workshops are always fun, practical and designed to make a difference.

Chris Mene

(Re) building trust in an ever-changing world

A popular mantra in our practice is that "engagement travels at the speed of trust". If trust is low or you don't have it, what can we do to build, or re-build trust with our communities, stakeholders and partners? The aim of this session is to explore and identify ways to build trust in us as engagement practitioners and, through us, onto our project teams and organisations.

More about Chris

Chris is a professional independent facilitator, director, advisor, trainer and critical friend. Equity and inclusion feature strongly across his diverse work and community background. He has had the privilege of working in many sectors and systems.

Chris’ background includes elected and appointed governance and executive roles and he is passionate about leading, supporting and enabling positive change.

pitches

Pitches

Everyone is encouraged to bring along a few ideas they may want to lead a discussion on. What’s hot for you right now?

Not keen on public speaking? No sweat, there will likely be others with similar ideas and you could get together or let them take the lead. No pressure, and no fancy powerpoints needed!

Here are just a few ideas to get your brain buzzing:

What can we do about outrage and opposition?
What does effective engagement look like when money is tight?
Words or pictures? Visual storytelling to engage communities and convey complex information
Equity and inclusion in engagement strategies: How do we amplify voices that are often marginalised?
Beyond counting likes and shares on Facebook, how do we truly measure the impact of our engagement initiatives?
Emerging technology (AI, virtual reality, data metrics). Opportunities and challenges.

Woman adding a post it to a whiteboard full of post it notes

Venue

This is your Contact section. Tell website visitors how they can contact you and encourage them to reach out with any questions and comments.

We’ve backed a winner and will be holding Talk It Up at Riccarton Park, Christchurch.

We’ll also be hosting a pre-event meet-up on Wednesday 16 October for those of us who are in town early. More details on time and location to follow.

There will also be the chance for some serious networking with drinks and nibbles following the full day Talk It Up Unconference on Thursday 17 October.

Can you tell we’re a social bunch?!

How to get there

Just a hop, skip and a jump from Christchurch airport, and central to Christchurch CBD, getting to Riccarton Park will be a piece of cake.

For those further afield without a vehicle:

Uber, taxi, Lime scooter, bus or your feet - there’s plenty of options to get yourself to Riccarton Park from your accommodation!

If you need a bus from the city centre, check out the Metro website for timetables and payment options.
There is plenty of space at the venue if you are flying in on Thursday morning and need to store your luggage before making your way to your accommodation later on Thursday.

For those closer to home:

Pop Canterbury Jockey Club into your map, and you should find yourself at 165 Racecourse Rd, Christchurch. From there, it’s easy!

Parking

If you have a vehicle, once you get to Riccarton Park (165 Racecourse Rd), head towards gates 3, 4 and 5 and there is plenty of parking available.

How to find us on the day

Head towards the main grandstand and venture up the main stairs.

From there, the registration desk will be easy to spot.

If you require access to the venue via a ramp rather than stairs, be sure to let us know when registering. The main room is on the ground floor, and some breakout rooms are located on Level 1. There are stairs and the option of a lift to get you to Level 1.