ACFID is delighted to announce the details of the concurrent sessions at our upcoming 2019 National Conference. This year we have 15 concurrent sessions featuring presenters from over 35 organisations, speaking on a range of both challenging and exciting topics.

Taking place on the 23rd to 24th of October, the conference will explore the changing nature of humanitarian and development work. We will address the current shift in global and economic power using perspectives from both the global South and from outside the sector, and explore the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

The official start of the 2019 National Conference will be preceded by a networking event on the 22nd of October. This is a wonderful opportunity for ACFID Conference delegates, members of the RDI network and the broader international development community to meet, catch up, and build networks. We will and exploring potential collaborations with peer researchers and practitioners from across the sector.

Day One of the conference focusses on the bigger picture, asking questions around the potential for sustainable development in an increasingly contested geo-strategic context. This day is designed to promote the perspectives of a diverse group of voices, giving delegates the opportunity to engage with differing viewpoints as we seek to address rising challenges in a shifting development landscape.

Day one sessions include:

• Not-for-profits (NFPs) and managing contractors (MCs): can they work together for greater impact?
  Presented by AVI, IDCC and Whitelum Group, this session explores how the Australian government, NGOs and Managing Contractors can leverage their experience, expertise and networks in order to produce greater development advocacy and improve each other’s practice.
• When disability rights movements lead: rethinking approaches to sustainable development
  Presented by ADDC, DRF, PDF and FPDNA, these organisations seek to challenge the status quo, asserting the participatory value that disability groups can have when creating change in their communities and country.

The theme for the second day is to ‘adapt and deliver’, encouraging delegates to reflect on their own engagement with aid and development programs, the partnerships they are involved in, and how they can continue to engage with the sustainable development agenda. Day two involves a diverse range of organisations and speakers, tackling issues such as youth leadership, disability inclusivity, protecting citizens and approaches to foster resilient development.

Day two sessions include:

• Bursting the bubble: solving complex development problems with partners
  Business for Development recognises the driven nature of those involved in international aid and development practice but stresses the importance of creating relationships with partners in order to ensure the long-term sustainability, lasting impact and successful participatory structure of projects.
• Challenging power: feminist practice beyond aid
  In this session, International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA), Plan International Australia and CARE Australia explore how NGOs are using feminist approaches to disrupt power in foreign affairs, international development, and within their own organisations.
• Confronting our own power: leadership and institutional change in INGOs
  Presented by IHSSC, CARE Australia, Australian Red Cross and Oxfam New Zealand, this session emphasises the need for internal assessments of NGO’s own power structures in order to dismantle those aspects that negatively impact approaches to sustainable development.

The 2019 ACFID Conference will connect delegates with voices that matter, and provide access to insights and actionable strategies for organisations as they progress to a more sustainable development future. The landscape of global politics is changing, and this event will serve as an opportunity to address the challenges and opportunities that these changes pose for the international development sector. We are very much looking forward to this event and to having you all here with us.

To see the full list of concurrent sessions on offer, head over to the conference website: https://conference.acfid.asn.au/