I have just got back from an enjoyable time in Melbourne at the International Riversymposium. This year there were 400 delegates from all parts of the world which provided a stimulating mix of presentations and conversations over lunch, morning and afternoon teas. The winner of the International Riverprize is the Willamette River in Oregon, United States of America, a river that has had years of hard work from volunteers, industry and government alike, to bring it back to a much healthier, functioning system. In Australia the Condamine Alliance won the National Riverprize for their fantastic work in ‘bringing the fish back’ to their river and tributaries. For both prizewinners long-term, persistent effort, and a strong sense of purpose and enthusiasm really shone through as key factors to their success. Entries for the 2013 Riverprizes are now open, including a new European Riverprize that will be presented at the 5th European Centre for River Restoration Conference in Vienna next year.
Peter Rennie from Leadership Australia and I ran a great session a the Riversymposium on ‘inspiring people to create powerful partnerships’. We had over 50 people attend which was brilliant, and based on the positive feedback we received, we are now putting together a workshop program for next year focusing on this topic – stay tuned for details. We are likely to be heading to the Sunshine Coast, Melbourne and Tassie for our first three workshops, but are happy to be asked to other places if you would like to partner with us on organising and hosting the event.
Presentations from the Riversymposium will be available on the website in about one months time.
Siwan