Conference...

WALKING ON WORDS : EARLY YEARS LITERACY CONFERENCE
13TH & 14th SEPTEMBER 2009. BALLARAT.
Venue: Mercure (Doherty’s Ballarat Lodge), Main Road, Ballarat

2009 Program - click here to download the PDF...

Download our Registration form by clicking here...
Please direct any enquiries to info@walkingonwords.com

DAMIAN CALLINAN - Dinner Speaker and Conference MC
Make no bones about it; Damian Callinan may be one of Australia’s most versatile, prolific and popular comedians. Former drama teacher turned stand up and character comedian Damian was one of the stars of the TV sketch show Skithouse [Australia, NZ, UK & France], a regular on Australian Rules football comedy Before The Game and has recently joined the cast of Channel 10 sketch The Wedge. Not to mention his TV appearances on such shows as Rove Live, Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala, Joker Poker, Good Morning Australia, The Fat, Off Road and countless others.

Damian’s extensive radio career has included co hosting stints on JJJ and 774ABC Melbourne as well as regular segments on Mix FM, Fox and MMM. He can currently be heard on Radio National doing regular satirical arts pieces and on 774ABC in a variety of character and co-hosting roles.

DR CATHIE HARRISON
Dr Cathie Harrison is currently Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the Australian Catholic University in Sydney. She is the author of the books Giftedness in Early Childhood and Young Gifted Children- Their Search for Complexity and Connection.

Cathie has a diverse range of experience within early childhood education as an academic, teacher, advisor to the ABC television program - Play School, and consultant to a number of museum and community projects. Her work has been strongly influenced by the early childhood educational experience in Reggio Emilia, Italy and Scandinavia.


LOUISE DORRAT
With over 20 year's experience, Louise has managed a variety of early childhood services, teaches music at Victoria University and conducts workshops throughout Victoria and other parts of Australia. Louise's background in professional theatre, drama, song and dance have resulted in the release of a music DVD called You Can Do Music which shows teachers and early childhood educators how to incorporate simple musical and drama experiences into early childhood programs. Her sessions are fun and action packed.


DR JULIE DUNN
Julie Dunn has worked in a range of educational contexts, from preschools to universities, but in all of these settings her focus has been on developing opportunities for learners to strengthen the power of their imaginations. Currently she is a senior lecturer at Griffith University, Brisbane where she works with undergraduate and post-graduate education and applied theatre students. Julie’s research focuses on the relationship between play and drama. Her work in the field of play is well known internationally, with several key publications across a range of topics.

ANDREW DADDO
Andrew is a renowned television presenter, actor and author. Andrew’s television career began at Network Ten.  In 1987, Andrew moved to the ABC, to host its national music program called The Factory. He spent two years there until he was offered to be a MTV host, in New York.
In 1992, after returning to Australia, Andrew appeared as Professor Plum in ‘Cluedo’, and then as a ghost in Paul Jennings’ series Around the Twist. Moving to Channel Seven in 1995, he hosted Australia’s Funniest People, World’s Greatest Commercials and the TV Week Logie Awards.

In 1999, Andrew co-hosted Kidspeak with Ernie Dingo, which was the Australian adaptation of the US show ‘Kids Say the Darndest Things’. From there Andrew took up the position as co-anchor on Channel Seven’s news style program 11AM which continued until the mid-2000.
In 2002 Andrew began presenting in one of the top Australian travel shows, The Great Outdoors, where he teamed once again with Ernie Dingo, where he still currently presenting. Apart from his career in television and radio, Andrew has also written 11 best-selling children’s books.

Map to the Walking on Words Conference
13th (Dinner) & 14th September 2009 (Conference)

From Melbourne, take the Westgate Fwy to the Western Ring Road exit, then the Western Ring Road to the Western Hwy exit. Take the Western Hwy approx. 100 km to the C805 Ballarat exit. Continue along Victoria St approx 10 km, turn left at Princes St Sth,then right at Barkly St and left onto Main Rd (C294). The hotel is approx. 5 min further along.From Melbourne Airport, take the Tullamarine Fwy to the Western Ring Road. Continue southwest to the Western Hwy exit. Take the Western Hwy to Ballarat.

Below is information regarding our 2008 guest speakers and other 2008 guests for the conference.

Graham Davey
Graham Davey is a well rounded presenter and performer, having entertained and informed both children and adults in a variety
of ways.

Graham began his working life as a teacher in England but quickly discovered that he could engage his students more effectively through performance rather than through “talk and chalk”. This passion soon became all encompassing and over the years, he changed his teacher’s hat for an entertainer’s and his home base from England
to Australia.

Graham now works as a performance storyteller, entertainer and a champion of the promotion of Australian children’s literature.

As a storyteller, Graham can present to listeners from pre school children through to adults, giving his audience a background in the oral tradition of story as well as entertaining them with examples of the craft – the stories themselves. His alter ego, Galosh the Gnome, is a sure fire favourite with younger audiences.

Anne Stewart
Anne fell into storytelling in 1977, when she was working as the assistant children’s librarian at Geelong. It was her lot to drive the Jolly Jumbuck storytelling van to various sites around the area, gather the children and tell them a story. She discovered she was good at it.

The turning point in Anne’s career came with her first job as children’s librarian at Darwin Library. That period set her on a quest to find the stories of Australia. For more than 20 years, Anne has worked with indigenous storytellers and others to build her bank of tales about convicts, pastoralists, gold, immigration, local people
and local places.

She has plumbed the resources of the Australiana Room at the Central Highlands Regional Library; she regularly tells stories in the Fine Art Gallery, is a producer for ABC Radio Ballarat and has completed several story projects through the ABC’s Regional Production Fund.

Anne has developed stories and programs for the National Gallery of Victoria and the National Museum of Australia and has spoken at several conferences for the International Museums Theatre Alliance. At the fourth biennial IMTAL Conference in October, 2005, Anne was invited to tell her family’s story of its relationship with East Timor and the death at Balibo in 1975 of her eldest brother, Tony.
These words are excerpts from Amongst Ballarat's finest: a showcase of achievement and contribution by Ballarat's women / [editors, Dinah McCance, Colin Taylor, Women's Health Grampians].

Geoff Bonney & Peter Widmer
RAtARtAt is:

- The collaboration in Art and Design by Geoff Bonney and Peter Widmer.
- Based in Ballaarat.
- In a forcefully provincial mood, proving without doubt, that art comes from the most surprising places.

Both Geoff and Peter each came to the partnership with years of diligent work behind them in fields other than art.

Geoff was a seaman and explorer, travelling extensively before finding that the compassionate world of Advertising offered a more stable and friendly milieu. Stumbling, he discovered the Fine Art world and no longer drinks Sauvignon Banc.

Peter, on the other hand, found that years of clearing tables for other people and cleansing their surfaces gave him a crystal clear vision of the future – Art.

Geoff and Peter are fiercely old fashioned and like to use, amongst other things, traditional techniques and materials like plastic chairs, bales of straw, fruit bins and recycled blankets. They have always been interested in the making of books as they are gadgets you can use lying down.

They believe that- In a time when things of the Creative Spirit are too often sacrificed for the apparently Rational - we like to assist in the restoration of the imagination to a prime seat at the head of the table: so, in appropriate materials, with apt ideas, we make unexpected works that fit.

Leigh Hobbs
Leigh was born in Melbourne in 1953 but grew up in a country town called Bairnsdale. At school he was hopeless at Sport and Maths and positively dangerous in Science. Fortunately, he showed a spark or two in the subjects he enjoyed most then and is still most passionate about now: Art and
English history.

Leigh’s artwork stretches across a wide range of art mediums. He has made animated films, supervised the restoration of a carousel and created sculptures for Sydney’s Luna Park, as well as designing the colour scheme for the entrance to Melbourne’s Luna Park.

He is perhaps best known for the children’s books he has written and illustrated featuring his characters Old Tom, Horrible Harriet, Fiona the Pig, The FREAKS in 4F and Mr Chicken. Of course, there is a little of Leigh in all of these characters. Though he has a fondness for dogs rather than cats, Leigh would probably admit that Old Tom is close to his heart. In any case, Old Tom is more of a Tasmanian Devil mixed with a Blue Heeler dog than a cat.

Meredith Costain
Meredith Costain is a versatile writer whose work ranges from picture books through to popular fiction and non-fiction for older readers. Her books include a number of titles in the popular ‘Aussie Nibbles’ series, and Musical Harriet, which was adapted for television by the ABC.

Doodledum Dancing, illustrated by Pamela Allen, was an Honour Book in the Early Childhood section of the 2007 CBCA awards.

Meredith is also the literary editor of national student magazines Comet, Explore and Challenge and has written extensively for the education market, particularly for emergent readers.

For more details, visit www.meredithcostain.com

Also launching her newest book.

Special Guests - TRIIIKE
Triiike is a group of illustrators who collaborate to produce works in the name of creativity and visual experimentation.
Triiike's method, media and subject matter vary from "tag team" manual illustrations, to digital character design.

At the core of Triiike is Ben, Sam & Trav. All three have been artists since they were young and have extensive experience in commercial illustration and design, with a solid knowledge of traditional, digital, print, web and animation processes.

See: www.triiike.com