Wildlife Disease Association
72nd Annual Conference
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Registration for the On Country and Off Country conferences will open in April 2024. The pre-event webinar series can be registered for at the links provided with promotion of each webinar.
Registration includes all social functions. Single day registration is not available. Registration fees (in Australian Dollars AUD) will be as follows.
Participants at WDA 2024 (On Country and Off Country meetings) can submit an abstract to share scientific, traditional, professional, experiential and other accumulated forms of ideas and knowledge regarding wildlife health through storytelling or through the arts. Spaces will be curated to enable the use of diverse media for both. Explore the Off Country Abstract Themes here.
Free online workshops on ‘Knowledge and storytelling’ and ‘Ideas and the arts” will be held in June 2024 to assist participants in preparing to share ideas and knowledge through these methods. Storytelling and art have been used in sharing scientific knowledge since its earliest development.
Keynote presentations at conferences often use a narrative approach and the concept of storytelling is an effective and universal method of sharing information. WDA 2024 is tapping into that familiar format to help make your research more accessible to a much wider audience, and ultimately bring more people to your work.
By creating a safe, non-judgemental space, this unique conference can help you wield a powerful communication tool that will engage people more deeply with your research than you ever thought possible. You’ll join many presenters, in person and online, who want to do things a little differently … seeking to relate not just a list of facts and figures, but the inspiration for and significance of the work – the journey and the destination.
You are already a scientific storyteller and your research is the story … now it is time to share your narrative with those who want and need to hear it.
Here are some resources to help your narrative evolve …
Some forms of art, including especially illustration and photography, are commonly used to communicate scientific knowledge and ideas. There are many examples of much more innovative and broadly targeted approaches to art-science partnerships however. The CORRIDOR project, who WDA 2024 is partnering with, showcases diverse approaches to science-arts collaboration. Our free online workshop in June (see Pre-event Webinar Series) will help prepare wildlife health professionals to use the arts or collaborate with artists to share their ideas or knowledge at WDA 2024.
Submit your abstract to present at WDA 2024 before June 21, 2024 (On Country meeting) or October 1, 2024 (Off Country meeting) here. Select whether you will present at the On Country or Off Country (online) meeting, whether you will present through storytelling or the arts (or if you are undecided), then follow the author guidelines to prepare your abstract as a Word document. Explore the Off Country Abstract Themes here. In your abstract, you will need to describe 1) who you are, and 2) what the ideas or knowledge are that you want to share.
The Wildlife Disease Association (WDA) is committed to a diverse, inclusive, fair and equitable community and environment, as explicitly stated in our Charter of Values. Our Code of Conduct applies to all participants in any event hosted by WDA, including all events associated with WDA 2024. The organising committee for WDA 2024 will be working to maximise accessibility to and diverse participation in this event. Please contact the organising committee at wda2024updates@gmail.com if you have suggestions or personal requests regarding accessibility and the creation of a diverse and inclusive environment. Complaints and concerns can be directed to WDA’s executive manager at exec.manager@wildlifedisease.org and will be considered with confidentiality and respect.
We are working to accredit continuing education for the On Country and Off Country conferences. Stay tuned for updates.
WDA’s ‘on Country’ conference in Canberra will be radically different to traditional scientific meetings. We are very excited about what you will experience but want you to be fully informed on the nature of this conference.
All conference attendees will be EXPECTED to participate in group reflection and discussion activities in response to paradigm-challenging keynote talks and panel discussions.
Presentations by attendees are ONLY possible through storytelling or the arts (see abstract submission below for further details).
If you are not comfortable with this approach, the ‘on Country’ conference is NOT FOR YOU. As preparation for this conference, a series of webinars will introduce some key ideas and workshops on sharing knowledge through storytelling and the arts.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island nations and people have a profound and enduring relationship with Country and wildlife that stretches back over 60,000 years.
We acknowledge the First Nations of the Australian continent and recognise their traditional and continuing connection and custodianship with the Country on which this event takes place. We honour, respect and listen to First Nations Elders. We respect, listen to and celebrate First Nations stories and knowledges.
We acknowledge our responsibility to First Nations and strive to honour this in our collective work towards this special event – WDA 2024.
