Communicating across the Commonwealth can be a difficult task when you factor in varying time zones and bridging the technological divide. CPU Conferences are a rare opportunity to bring the Commonwealth press together to foster communication.
Every two years the CPU hosts a Conference in a different region of the Commonwealth involving high ranking editors, publishers and media practitioners. The aim is to encourage debate on the issues of the day and review strategies for development.
The next Biennial Conference - the 46th - will be held at the Sheraton on the Park in Sydney from 23 to 25 February 2005. Publishers are expected to arrive on Tuesday 22 February and to depart on Saturday 26 February. For a full schedule of activities and timings, please click here.
All the major newspaper groups in Australia and New Zealand have agreed to support the Forum and the CPU Biennial Conference. We therefore expect both events to be well attended by senior editors and publishers accordingly.
Sydney
Sydney is as beautiful a city as any in the world, with a setting that perhaps only Rio de Janeiro can rival: the water is what makes it so special, and no introduction to Sydney would be complete without paying tribute to one of the world's great harbours. Port Jackson is a sunken valley with twists inland to meet the fresh water of the Parramatta River; in the process it washes into a hundred coves and bays, winds around rocky points, flows past the small harbour islands, slips under bridges and laps at the foot of the Opera House.
Useful links:
Sydney - www.sydney.com.au
City of Sydney - www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Some history of Sydney
The early history of Sydney is very much the history of white Australia, right from its founding as a penal colony, amid brutality, deprivation and despair. In January 1788 the First Fleet, carrying over a thousand people, 736 of them convicts, arrived at Botany Bay expecting the "fine meadows" that Captain James Cook had described eight years earlier. In fact what greeted them was mostly swamp, scrub and sand dunes: a desolate sight even for seaweary eyes.
An unsuccessful scouting expedition promoted Commander Arthur Phillip to move the fleet a few kilometres north, to the well-wooded Port Jackson, where a stream of fresh water was found. Based around the less than satisfactory Tank Stream, the settlement was named Sydney Cove after Viscount Sydney, then Secretary of State in Great Britain.
In the first three years of settlement, the new colony nearly starved to death several times; the land around Sydney Cove proved to be barren. When supply ships did arrive, they inevitably came with hundreds more convicts to further burden the colony.
It was not until 1790, when land was successfully farmed further west at Parramatta, that the hunger began to abate. Measure this suffering with that of the Eora Aborigines: their land had been invaded, their people virtually wiped out by small pox, and now they were stricken by hunger as the settlers shot at their game - and even, as they moved further inland, at the Eora themselves.
'The Rough Guide to Australia'
How to register
Two downloadable registration forms are available, one for Australian and New Zealand delegates and one for International delegates.
Kindly read the payments instructions carefully.
Travel
The CPU has come to an arrangement with Emirates Airlines.
Flights to Sydney from many destinations, particularly the UK, are very much in demand so do book early.
If you wish to take advantage of the Emirates offer, please contact Gamit or Kamini at Taprobane Travel in London on +44 20 7437 6272 or by email to gamit@srilankatours.co.uk
Blue mountains |
Partners' Programme
A selection of tours has been arranged for accompanying partners of Conference delegates. Tours are fully escorted by an experienced tour guide and cost includes entry fees and meals as specified.
The costs are based on a minimum number of participants. If this number is not reached, an alternative tour will be offered or a complete refund will be made. Numbers are limited on some tours and places will be allocated strictly in order of receipt of bookings.
All tours will depart from/return to Sheraton on the Park.
For a complete listing of tours click here.
Partners can book their tours now via cpu2005@gtaus.com.au
Pre Or Post Conference Tours
It would be a shame to travel all the way to Australia and only see Sydney. The scale of Australia and the variety of experiences the country can offer - from the Barrier Reef to the Winelands - ensure a memorable holiday in this vast and beautiful country.
JANET HEWITT
GENERAL TRAVEL AUSTRALIA
25 Moondarra Street,
CHAPEL HILL QLD 4069
AUSTRALIA
T: (07) 3378 6261
F: (07) 3378 3099
M: 0412 315 290
Email: cpu2005@gtaus.com.au
Janet will be happy to arrange any pre or post conference tours you may wish to make.
Lord Astor (left) with Sir Harry Brittain |
Astor Award
On the final evening of the Conference, the 2005 winner of the Astor Award will be announced. It is awarded biennially to an individual considered to have made an outstanding contribution to press freedom or for his/her distinguished service to the Commonwealth newspaper industry.
Click here, for more information on the Astor Award and a list of previous winners.
Useful Australian links:
The Age - www.theage.com.au
The Australian - www.theaustralian.news.com.au
The Daily Telegraph - www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au
PANPA (Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers' Association)
www.panpa.org.au
PNEB (Publishers National Environment Bureau) - www.pneb.com.au
The Sydney Morning Herald - www.smh.com.au |
