2011 NZRA National Conference

"Recreation – we've got it covered"

The 2011 NZRA Annual Conference will be held at the new Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin between 16 – 18 November.

ROD ORAM TO SPEAK AT NEW ZEALAND RECREATION ASSOCIATION (NZRA) NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN DUNEDIN, 16-18 NOVEMBER

The New Zealand Recreation Association (NZRA) is pleased to announce that renowned New Zealand journalist Rod Oram has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at its annual National Conference, Recreation…we've got it covered, at Dunedin's Forsyth Bar Stadium this November.

Rod Oram has more than 30 years' experience as an international business journalist. He has worked for various publications in Europe and North America, including the Financial Times of London. Rod and his family emigrated from the UK to New Zealand in 1997.

He is currently a columnist for the Sunday Star-Times; a regular broadcaster on radio and television; and a frequent public speaker on business, economics, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, in both New Zealand and global contexts. Rod also takes recreation seriously. In February 2010 he rode with a group of cyclists from Cape Reinga to Bluff and raised $1.2m for the Heart Foundation.

At November's conference Rod will speak about the economics of sport and recreation and its value in the wider community. See him and a whole range of other exciting presenters. The full programme will be out at the end of the month and registrations will be live shortly.

The theme of this year's conference is "Recreation – we've got it covered". The conference aims to cover high level strategy, development, policy, and planning topics relevant to and across the range of sectors that make up the recreation industry.

The conference attendees are predominantly local authority managers, planners and recreational professionals who advise on the annual expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars in facilities, programmes, sport and recreation partnerships and major events.

The key focus areas of this year's conference will be: access, research, health, the impact of natural disasters and the future of the recreation industry.