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CONFERENCE: Club Health 2005 - Sydney

Cowboy Mac

Cowboy Mac

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Club Health 2005 will be held in Sydney at the Rydges Jamison Hotel on 29-30 September. This is one of the few national and international conferences that give user groups, and others dedicated to real harm reduction, a chance to interact with policy makers.

Come see Johnboy, Cowboy Mac, Madmick and DrPlatypus stick it to the man! I'm not really sure what that means, but what I am sure of is that it will all be very entertaining. It begins with:

Club Health: the clubbers experience
madmick, Code Blue, Canberra

And ends with:

If the government won't pay... Peer-Initiated harm reduction in the club drugs world.
Johnboy Davidson, Enlighten, Australia

Pillreports.com V2: facilitating harm reduction worldwide.
Cowboy Mac, Enlighten, Australia.

The next generation of harm minimisation: evidence-based vs. electorate-based drugs policy.
Dr David Caldicott, Emergency Research Fellow, Royal Adelaide Hospital

But it's not just us. There are dozens of other interesting speakers from all around the world. Here is the official blurb:

Rydges Jamison Hotel, Sydney
29-30 September 2005

Previous Club Health conferences in the Netherlands, Italy and Australia have proved successful in attracting international audiences interested in all aspects of nightlife. Furthermore, although a key feature of these conferences is recreational drug use, the wider nightlife focus of Club Health broadens debate to include sexual health, transport, crime, emergency planning and other nighttime safety issues. As a result the conference attracts a wide range of delegates including health practitioners, police, licensing authorities, bar and club owners, environmental health professionals, representatives from the music and travel industries and club-goers themselves. We hope to attract a similar range of delegates to this conference.

Confirmed international speakers include Lisa McDonald from the Royal Institute for Deaf People (RNID), UK who will be speaking on the issue of
clubbing and hearing loss; Aimee Ferraro from the University of Colorado who will discuss the implications of the Rave Act in the USA; and Karen Hughes from John Moores University, Liverpool, UK presenting a paper on clubbing and sexual behaviour.

Australian speakers include Dr Iain McGregor from University of Sydney; Dr Rod Irvine from University of Adelaide, Dr Adam Winstock from South West Area Health Service in Sydney: and Dr David Caldicott from the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Club Health 2005: Sydney will be held on 29th and 30th September 2005 at the Rydges Jamison in Sydney. A registration form and further details are available at the following weblink:

http://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/ndarc.nsf/website/News.conferencelinks
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Hmm, I can't attend but if I chance to be in Sydney on those dates (for work) I'd be staying at that hotel (it's very cooshy!) so I will come and say hi.
 
Looks very interesting. I'd go but it comes with a pretty hefty price tag at $350.

If anybody feels like sponsoring me, I'm up for it :D

Especially interested in the speeches on the RAVE Act, Evidence v Electorate Based Drug Policy and Clubbing & Hearing Loss.

I think hearing loss is a serious safety issue that many people don't consider when at an event. I often bring ear plugs with me and tend to stay towards the back because I've already damaged my hearing fairly badly and don't want it to get worse. I'm concious of it almost all the time when I'm out, but nobody else seems to even consider the health implications of the environment they are placing themselves in.
 
aunty establishment [/i] [B]Hmm said:
Looks very interesting. I'd go but it comes with a pretty hefty price tag at $350.
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These kind of things are always pricey but there may be a student price that is lower than $350. What do you think would be a fair price to pay for two days of presentations and lunch supplied? You should email Paul Dillon from NDARC and voice your opinion; you want to go but it is costly.
 
Cowboy Mac said:
These kind of things are always pricey but there may be a student price that is lower than $350. What do you think would be a fair price to pay for two days of presentations and lunch supplied?
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I would say, what one can afford. Many organisations/ unis etc can afford that sort of price tag, but there is no question that Club Health is infinitely more valuable when there is a user presence -, as there was in Melbourne last year - some of those will come from orgs and unis, but lots don't and that sort of figure is heaps too high. by allowing a number of subsidised/ or free regos those who are paying full price are going to get lots more out of it than if a heap of academics sit around going "so what actually goes on at these raves?", or industry reps sitting around going "fuck, i had a big one last night, anyone got any panadol" (which from all reports seemed to be the discussion level at Netherlands and Italy Clubs Health); aivl had to really fight to get a user plenary and subsidised regos, and everyone who had a point of comparison said the conference was heaps better for it.
So put the hard word on Paul, NDARC can afford it!
 
I agree. I feel we could contribute quite a bit to this conference, but as we as a group no longer receive any government funding, attending is pretty well out of the question for us Queenslanders. All I can say is that 6 years of unpublished, comprehensive intervention data can't be considered to be worth much 8)
 
$350 is really very inexpensive for a two day conference. I'm about to pay $700 US out of my own pocket to attend a four-dayer and it's not going to be anywhere near as fun as watching Johnboy make people look stupid =D

p_d, it's a bloody shame you can't get funding to attend. Really pisses me off that there's so much inequality across the different HR orgs in Aus :(
 
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If you knew the half of it. While some intermediate parties have made an outstanding effort to establish a workable relationship with state officials on our behalf, there's an undercurrent of coerciveness within the department that contradicts the very philosophy behind the RaveSafe concept. Even if we were still backed by an official body, in all honesty I'd be the last person they'd want to send to such a conference.

I believe in sticking to principles, not kissing arse and giving in to demands from those who know nothing about the scene and who ignore epidemiological studies or simply wouldn't/ couldn't consider ruffling dept feathers for fear of their own future. Anyway, I'm just too outspoken on issues such as testing and government policy, and with the data to back it up, such outspokenness becomes very unsettling for those who stand to lose the most by bad or awkward media publicity. Call me jaded if you like; jaded with local bad policy makers :|

If I did attend it would be on my own back, but with the time I have free over the next 2 months and a current less than optimal income, I can't see myself forking out for yet another expense related to the cause. Sooner or later, you have to dedicate your time to those around you who love you and to projects that support them. You know family and bacon and home and stuff... In that respect, my time in Harm Reduction related volunteer work is steadily drawing towards a close :(
 
Sounds like it would be an interesting event to attend. Now if only I wasn't on the wrong side of the country :p
 
phase_dancer said:
...in all honesty I'd be the last person they'd want to send to such a conference.

I believe in sticking to principles, not kissing arse and giving in to demands from those who know nothing about the scene and who ignore epidemiological studies or simply wouldn't/ couldn't consider ruffling dept feathers for fear of their own future. Anyway, I'm just too outspoken on issues such as testing and government policy, and with the data to back it up, such outspokenness becomes very unsettling for those who stand to lose the most by bad or awkward media publicity. Call me jaded if you like; jaded with local bad policy makers :|
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...no, I'd call you a scholar, by the classical definition, which makes you exactly the kind of person who *should* be attending. Still, I can understand why you wouldn't want to spend money to attend. You shouldn't have to. Let's just say there are a lot of things about the HR world in Aus that I don't understand and that underpinned my decision not to take that career path.
 
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heya phase dancer ill chip in $75 towards your ticket if you decide to go, since im getting in for my presentation its the least i can do for such a well respected HR advocate:)
 
That's very kind of you Mick. However, I'll have to get back to you on this. As I mentioned, at this late stage of things, there's a quite a few commitments already made. At the very best, I'd have no time to prepare anything (although I did at one time have a topic in mind).

Once again, thanks heaps for the offer and words of support. That goes for you too aunty. I wonder how many of the best HR coal face workers have bailed out for similar reasons.
 
I may also look to go up w/Mac + JB.

Be good to see Enlightens new baby (PR.com) released to the wider audience at Club Health, Mac will be like Steve Jobs releasing the new Ipod Nano to thousands of hungry music lovers :)
 
p_d if you had a topic ready to go and did want to attend but couldnt for financial reasons or because you didnt believe you should have to, i'm sure many bl'ers would chip in for you.

Sometimes you just have to meet the dickheads half way and swallow some pride... but if not I'd contribute :) I believe in HR and getting our point out in public but it's just not my thing to do it personally.
 
Yay - I've just found out that I'm going to be in Sydney on those days (at that hotel) after all. Can we arrange a meetup on the Thursday night perhaps? It would be great to catch up with y'all, and meet a few new faces. It'd be even more great if I could attend some of the sessions but no can do - lousy job, always expecting me to show up ;)
 
There's a whole social program, organised by myself and Buck Reed. Details, as well as the abstracts for every talk, are here
 
This sounds really awesome! The price tag is rather hefty!

Will something like this be held in other states around Australia???

I dont see why only Sydney should get all this kinda information!!!!
 
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