The 2025 CBAA Conference is just around the corner, taking place in Hobart from 23–25 October. This year has themes of sustainability and the capacity of media to drive social and environmental change.
The opening keynote is from Adrian Sargeant, Professor of Fundraising at the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy and Research Director at Philanthropy and Fundraising International. ABC Radio Sydney breakfast presenter and known force for change Craig Reucassel wraps things up before the annual CBAA Awards which celebrates the many and varied achievements of the community radio industry.
For those who have never attended one of these wonderful events, there is plenty happening in between to expand your knowledge, allow you to meet new like minded souls and those who think and have lived a different experience to your own. You can hone your craft through masterclasses and deep dive sessions. Some who attend have done so since the conference and awards inception. Everyone who attends walks away with new ideas, knowledge and a broadened professional network.
Jon Bisset is the CEO of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA), a role he has held for 12 years. That period of time has seen some giant leaps forward for community radio stations, from Roadmap 2033, the Community Radio Plus app, Powerd Media, Music Recognition Technology and community radio celebrating 50 years in September 2024. It is an industry in good health.
Jon said:
“The CBAA conference has always been about connection and bringing everyone together. There’s many of the same stations every year, and then quite a large number of new stations every year. It’s really about bringing people together to share their experiences, to network, to have fun, as well as attend sessions and learn how they can be doing their job better.”
This year’s conference features foundation sessions on sports broadcasting, governance, on air branding and the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) will host two sessions on archiving. With many community stations now celebrating four to five decades of broadcasting there is a need to preserve audio before it degrades. There’s also a need to retrieve archival images and documents.
“I think it’s even more critical in this digital age and it actually can be easier to find. I came across a box, for example, in my garage the other week with photos in it. 10 years of photos in a small box. Now though when I look at my phone there’s a million times more photos in the last week of my dog than I took in the whole 80s and 90s,” John laughs.
“How do you find stuff, and save it, in this time of just so much information? These two sessions on archiving will be invaluable.”
The full conference program can be found here: https://conference.cbaa.org.au/
This year’s CBAA Conference wraps up on Saturday night October 25 with a cool session called Why Didn’t I Think of That? celebrating great projects, promos, events and initiatives created at 2MFM, Harvey FM, Coast FM 96.3, 8CCC and SYN, then Craig Reucassel’s closing keynote and finally the 2025 Community Radio Awards, including The Michael Law and Tony Staley and Station Leadership awards and new additions to the Community Radio Honour Roll.
There are no longer tickets available for the Awards ceremony but you can still attend the conference which are open for registrations until this Friday October 17 at 5pm.
Register here: https://icmsmeetings.eventsair.com/cbaa-conference-2025/standard-reg/Site/Register?utm_medium=conferencewebsite
Jon said:
“The awards are a special night for the sector. We have well over 300 award nominations this year. Just to become a finalist is a special achievement for you and your station.
I’m looking forward to seeing who wins those awards, looking forward to acknowledging the station champions over the years.
The awards and the conference is our opportunity to come together, celebrate and learn. It should be a fantastic few days in Hobart.”
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo.