We are delighted to announce that the registration brochure and program for the AFIF 2012 Conference will be released in a couple of weeks.

 

The event takes place on the Gold Coast from the 24 - 26 May 2012 and the venue will be the Surfers Paradise Outrigger (formally Holiday Inn Surfers Paradise). Accommodation details will be released with the Registration Brochure with accommodation rates starting from $150 a night. Registration fees have also been reduced!

 

 

 

The AFIF 2012 program has a completely new and revitalised mix of business topics, including a new session to focus on education, training, staff motivation and retention and a unique presentation on building better relationships in your business.

 

We will also highlight advances in technology and e-commerce, which gains a specific session and an increased global focus includes presentations from the head of IATA Cargo and the President of FIATA who will make a special presentation on freight movement across borders in the Asia Pacific.

 

Of course, at least one thing must still stay the same and an AFIF conference would not be complete without The Great Debate ! This year's proposition: 'Dictators make better managers'!

 

Full details of the complete Program will be in the Registration Brochure - out soon!

 

Featured Speaker
Over the coming months, we will feature a speaker or session from the program and outline further detail. At this time, we are excited to announce one of our special guest speakers :

 

 

 

Steve Keen is Professor of Economics & Finance at the University of Western Sydney and author of the popular book Debunking Economics (2nd edition, Zed Books UK, 2011) and websites www.debtdeflation.com/blogs and http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/. Steve's excellent communication skills were honed in his pre-academic career, which included stints as a school librarian, education officer for an NGO, conference organiser, computer programmer, journalist for the computer press, and economic commentator for ABC Radio National and Radio Australia.

 

Steve Keen has over 60 academic publications on topics as diverse as financial instability, the money creation process, mathematical flaws in the conventional model of supply and demand, flaws in Marxian economics, the application of physics to economics, Islamic finance and the role of chaos and complexity theory in economics. His work has been translated into Chinese, German and Russian.

 

In Debunking Economics - the naked emperor of the social sciences, Steve challenged many widely believed economic models that dominate academic thinking about finance today-even after the Global Financial Crisis.

 

Since 1995, Steve's main research focus has been the development of an alternative, empirically grounded theory, known as the "Financial Instability Hypothesis", which argues that finance markets are inherently unstable. Steve's book on this topic, Finance and Economic Breakdown, will be published by Edward Elgar (UK) in 2013.

 

Steve predicted the Global Financial Crisis as long ago as December 2005, and since November 2006 has published Debtwatch, a monthly report which explains the dangers of excessive private debt. This report, which is freely available on his blog (http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs) has received extensive coverage in the Australian media, and is reproduced by other noted commentators around the world, including Nouriel Roubini's RGE Monitor (http://www.rgemonitor.com/) and Alan Kohler's Business Spectator (http://www.businessspectator.com.au/).

 

 

 

 

The AFIF Golf Challenge, sponsored by Maersk Australia will be held on Thursday 24 May at the Palms at Sanctuary Cove, followed by the Qantas Freight sponsored Welcome Reception at the Titanium Bar in Surfers Paradise.

 

Friday evening will be a free evening after Happy Hour sponsored by Globelink International.
The Conference Dinner, supported jointly by Direct Couriers and Wymap Group will be held on Saturday 26 May and feature entertainment from a hand-picked stellar band that Geoff Young has put together especially for the conference. Later that night will feature the AFIF Nightclub where you can dance to the early hours, thanks to the sponsorship of Insync Personnel.

 

A copy of the registration brochure will be automatically posted to all AFIF members. All information will be continuously available on the conference website and you will have the choice to register online or using the form from the brochure.

 

If you have any questions about the conference, please contact the conference secretariat at:
 

Tel: 02 4973 6573
Email: afifconference@willorganise.com.au

 

 

Regards