2022 Annual General Meeting

The Australian Science Communicators Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held virtually on Zoom on Wednesday 16 November 2022 at 12:00PM AEDT | 11:30AM ACDT | 11:00AM AEST | 10:30AM ACST | 9:00AM AWST.

Please fill in this form (bit.ly/ASC-AGM22) to:

  • register to attend the AGM or appoint a proxy to attend in your place;
  • submit an agenda item to be discussed at the AGM; and
  • self-nominate to be an Executive Committee member.

Our AGM is a key event in our annual calendar where we meet with our membership to report on our progress in the last financial year. This is also an opportunity for our membership to voice their concerns or suggestions and become more involved by participating in the election for positions in the ASC Executive Committee.

If you are not able to attend the AGM, consider appointing a proxy to vote on your behalf. The AGM agenda will be sent out a week prior to the event. 

We are proud to announce that our special speaker for the event will be Prof. David Karoly FAA, climate scientist and current member of the Climate Council.

David is an honorary professor in the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and an honorary senior research fellow in Melbourne Climate Futures, having retired from CSIRO at the end of January 2022. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. Currently a Councillor on the Climate Council, Australia, he is an internationally recognised expert on climate change and variability and a frequent media commentator on these issues. 

At the AGM, Professor Karoly will share his experience communicating climate science to inform Australian policy.

Please contact secretary@asc.asn.au if you have any questions.

We hope to see you there!

Notice for 2021 Annual General Meeting

Official notice of 2021 Australian Science Communicators AGM (online via Zoom)

This is the official notice of the Australian Science Communicators’ Annual General Meeting, to be held online via zoom on THURSDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2021

The 2021 AGM is an opportunity for members to hear about the year’s events at the national level, and also to have their say about what should happen in the year to come. It also includes reports from the President and Treasurer.

When: Thursday 18 November 2021

Perth: 2:45pm

Darwin: 4:15pm

Brisbane: 4:45pm

Adelaide: 5:15pm

Sydney/Melb/Canberra/Hobart: 5:45pm

Where: Online via zoom (please RSVP and you will be emailed a link to join).

RSVP via Form below or via this link

Only financial ASC members are eligible to attend the AGM. Please check you have renewed your membership community.asc.asn.au

Executive Council Positions

The current ASC President Lisa Bailey will be standing down from the President’s role.

Nominations for President:

Jirana Boontanjai and Tom Carruthers (nominating to act as co-Presidents together and share the position)

With Jirana as an education and engagement professional, and Tom as a communication strategist and technical advisor, they bring a wealth of expertise to the role from working in academia, government and the not-for-profit sectors. They recently reinvigorated Pint of Science as more than a science-in-the-pub event, but instead as a grass-roots program for EMCRs in sci comm and events management.

Camille Thomson

As a long time active member of the ASC, I feel I should take this opportunity to put my name forward and see how I can help shape the future of science communicators. I have had many roles being an educator and communicator myself as well as helping train early career scientists to communicate their work better. 

I’d love the opportunity to take on this important role

Nominations for Vice-President

Jen Martin

Hi, I’m Jen Martin, I founded and lead the Science Communication Teaching Program at Melbourne Uni. I joined ASC and attended my first conference back in 2010 and have been incredibly grateful to be part of this diverse and dynamic network ever since. I’ve contributed to ASC in a number of different ways over the years and was very privileged to be recognised as the Unsung Hero of Australian Science Communication for 2019. Now I’d like the opportunity to join the Executive and give back more to the organisation.

Johanna Howes

For those of you who haven’t met me at a past ASC conference, my name’s Joh Howes. After finishing up my PhD in Environmental Chemistry, I realised I liked talking about other people’s research and didn’t enjoy academia myself. So I joined the Science Circus in 2016 and have been working as a Science Communicator ever since. Right now I am one of three Experience Officers (content creators and managers) at Science Space in Wollongong. I spend most of my time training our incredible staff, writing shows and performing for online audiences in our Planetarium and Science Theatre.

I’ve been a part of ASC since 2017/2018 and have really enjoyed all of the networking opportunities. I would love to help out where I can on the committee and specifically speak up for those of us in more regional centres of the country. I’ve been serving as the NSW branch VP for the last 2 years and I’d like to continue learning about the organisation.

If you’ve got any questions, you can send me an email at jhowes@uow.edu.au

Nominations for Secretary

The existing secretary Michelle Redlinger has nominated to continue in the role for 2022.

Nominations for Treasurer

None received as of 15/11/21 

Reps on the National Council

Branches are required to nominate and endorse a National Representative to join the National Council at their Branch AGM. If this has happened, please notified the National Secretary.

Agenda items and notices of motions

Proposed agenda items, notices of motion must be received by 5.30pm (AEDT) Monday 15 November 2021 and can be sent to president@asc.asn.au. Note that notices of motion require a proposer and a seconder.

Proxies

Members unable to attend the AGM in person can provide an online proxy. This will allow members to nominate another current ASC member attending the meeting to hold their proxy, or alternatively the National Secretary. Instructions for nominating proxies will be circulated prior to the AGM along with the final notification of official business. Please note, organisations that have a membership may nominate only one (1) representative to vote.

The following items are current as of 31 October 2021:

ASC-WA AGM 2019

Our Annual General Meeting will be held at 6pm on Thursday 14th November 2019 this year, at The Garden Leederville (742 Newcastle St, Leederville WA 6007). There will be food! Please email ASC WA if you would like to:
  • Nominate for a committee position
  • Contribute ideas for events next year
  • Have any points for general discussion you would like to raise
Committee member positions are president, treasurer, secretary, student representative, National Committee representative, and general committee member. Current committee members are:
  • Miriam Sullivan (President)
  • Cass Rowles (Treasurer)
  • Sharnii Austin (Secretary)
  • Tammy Pinkerton (Social Media)
  • Teresa Belcher (General Committee & WA Rep)
  • Heather Bray (General Committee)
You must be a paid member in order to vote, but everyone is welcome to come and catch up and contribute ideas. If you are a paid member and can’t attend, please email us or give a friend your proxy vote so that we can meet quorum! Download your proxy vote formsword doc or PDF. Fill them in and either send them with a member to vote on your behalf or email to a member of the committee (asc.events.wa@gmail.com) who will vote on your behalf. Facebook event for any discussions you’d like to have pre-meeting.

Official notice of the ASC AGM, Canberra, 19 December 2017

The ASC AGM is coming up in Canberra (and also online) on Tuesday 19 December 2017.

The 2017 AGM is an opportunity for members to hear about the year’s events at the national level, and to have their say about what should happen in the year to come. It also includes reports from the President and Treasurer.

When:
Tuesday 19 December 2017, 6.00pm AEST

Where:
Whisky Room, upstairs at the Civic Pub, 8 Lonsdale Street, Braddon, Canberra ACT
Doors open at 6pm for a 6:30pm start. Food and drinks available. If in Canberra and coming to the pub, reserve your seat here: https://www.trybooking.com/TDXL (seats are limited!) May include: meeting, drinking, socialising, games, etc

Virtual:
A Skype (or other) meeting will be set up for those unable to attend in person.
We will also be able to Livestream the event. More details to follow.

RSVP:
secretary@asc.asn.au

Only financial ASC members are eligible to attend the AGM.

Agenda

Proposed agenda items, notices of motion and treasurer nominations must be received by 6pm AEST Friday 8 December 2017, and can be sent to Teresa Belcher, National Secretary (secretary@asc.asn.au).

Treasurer vacancy

Members also have the chance to elect a new National Treasurer. Due to family commitments, our current treasurer Pete Wheeler is resigning after 5 years of service. We’d like to thank Pete for being such a stalwart contributor in the engine room of the ASC, overseeing the association finances and related compliance and reporting in times of change, and keeping the national executive up to date on all things finance during this time.
Nominations for Treasurer should be accompanied by a nomination statement (<400 words) of skills/experience in relation to the position. Note that notices of motion require a proposer and a seconder, and nominations for Treasurer need to be agreed by the nominee.

Proxies

Members unable to attend the AGM in person can give proxies to other members attending the meeting. This means that unless members are at the physical meeting in Adelaide, you will need to designate a proxy to vote.

To designate your proxy:

  • Download and complete the proxy form, and ensure a copy of this form is with your proxy to take to the AGM (Word and PDF)
  • Notify the National Secretary, Teresa Belcher (secretary@asc.asn.au) – this must be done or the proxy and vote is not considered valid
  • Ensure that the proxy form is completed prior to 6pm AEST Friday 15 December 2017

Please note that votes will remain confidential. All proxy forms will be collected and destroyed after the AGM.

The following items are current as of 22 November 2017:

Notice of the ASC Annual General Meeting, Adelaide, 22 February 2017

This is the official notice of the Australian Science Communicators’ Annual General Meeting, to be held in Adelaide, South Australia on 22 February 2017.

The AGM is an opportunity for members to hear about the year’s events at the national level, and also to have their say about what should happen in the year to come. It also includes reports from the President and Treasurer.

When: Wednesday 22 February 2017, 6.00pm ACDT
Where: The Historian Hotel, 18 Coromandel Place, Adelaide CBD
RSVP: secretary@asc.asn.au
Only financial ASC members are eligible to attend the AGM.

Members also have the chance to elect a new National President. Proposed agenda items, notices of motion and presidential nominations must be received by Wednesday 15 February 2017 and can be sent to Sarah Lau, National Secretary (secretary@asc.asn.au).

Note that notices of motion require a proposer and a seconder, and nominations for President need to be agreed by the nominee.

Members unable to attend the AGM in person are able to give proxies to other members attending the meeting, or alternatively, send them to Sarah Lau, National Secretary. Instructions for nominating proxies and voting instructions will be circulated prior to the AGM along with the final notification of official business.

The following items are current as of 6 February 2017:

 

ASC Constitution, 2015 Special General Meeting and 2015 AGM

The ASC Constitution was reviewed and adopted at a Special General Meeting in Canberra on 18 November 2015.
The Constitution is available here.
The minutes from the Special General Meeting are available here.

The ASC Annual General Meeting was held on 19 November 2015.
The minutes from the Annual General meeting are available here.

For queries and corrections, please contact secretary@asc.asn.au.

President’s update

ASC—its future

  • Conference! Brisbane, 11 March 2016
  • We are focused on serving members better
  • Fees to rise following epic audit

Executive Summary

Australian Science Communicators is the national forum for science communicators and science journalists. We are independent from government and run by members, for members.

Going forwards, our mission is to:

  • Better support our national network of science communicators and science journalists by providing professional development and networking opportunities;
  • Increase our direct support for branches and members located in both metropolitan and regional areas; and
  • Strengthen partnerships and relationships with our corporate members, partner organisations and key stakeholders.

In recent times, volunteer-driven associations like the ASC have come under pressure from growing operating costs and a greater need for regulatory compliance. Some have failed to overcome these challenges and have ceased to exist.

For this reason, throughout the past year we have invested a lot of time and effort into ensuring our finances and regulatory compliance are robust and up to date. Recently, this process came to an end and we have been given a clean bill of health after a professional audit and bookkeeping services.

Free of risk and uncertainty in these areas, the association has a strong platform on which to grow, but we do have some challenges to overcome.

This month the ASC executive, along with nominated representatives from state branches, met in Canberra for a special general meeting, a 2-day strategy meeting and our 2015 AGM. During these discussions we scrutinised the ASC’s operations, reworked the constitution and developed a strong plan for the future. I thank the branch and committee representatives for their time and energy in helping define the future of ASC.

  1. We now have a legal constitution – over the years and in response to all kinds of issues, the constitution had been ‘tinkered with’, with parts added and removed. Unfortunately, because of the shape it was in, our not-for-profit status was very much at risk. Thanks to Toss Gascoigne for his time in helping us craft a compliant constitution and lodging it.
  2. We have had a robust audit of the ASC finances (18 months in the doing). We’ve updated our processes and identified areas where we need to change or even eliminate suppliers and services. Importantly, we now know where we stand financially and at this month’s AGM were able to present the financials and show that the ASC cannot survive based on its current membership dues. Thank you to Pete Wheeler, our treasurer, and Kali Madden, our executive officer, for getting ASC in a much better place after a white-knuckle ride.
  3. The strategy meeting was incredibly useful for talking about what members want and how, as a volunteer organisation, we can deliver that. Here were the key discussions and outcomes:
    1. Networking. The ASC is a valuable network of communication professionals, academics, freelancers, students, and journalists.  We want to better support the network and bolster the channels through which we communicate as a network. ASC has one of the best mailing lists (as in listserve) in the science engagement world.  Through it our members announce events, job opportunities and occasionally have heated discussions. We also have a Facebook group, individual Facebook pages, and 2 LinkedIn groups (one public, one private). Then there’s the ASC website which supports members and we’re also currently hosting various other sites with premier content that our members want (sciencengage, no funny business etc.). These activities all have associated costs for which we now need to budget.
    2. Conference. We’ll be holding our next conference in 2016 on March 11 at QUT’s fabulous ROOM360 (for the views it has over Brisbane) during the World Festival of Science.  The conference is an extremely valuable networking and professional development activity, but it is volunteer driven and like any national conference has significant costs involved to make it happen.
    3. Professional Development. In the past year we have initiated a professional development grants program that has already generated benefits for members around the country. We want to expand this, and again it requires time, energy and some funding to make that possible.
    4. Webinars. ASC has the capacity to host web based events on topics of interest to our members. As part of our commitment to delivering benefits to members wherever they may be, we will be rolling out 6 of these across 2016.

However, our finances reveal that the ASC has been operating at a loss for some years, propped up by extraordinary and unsustainable volunteerism generating some profit from conferences.  We cannot continue to do this—it undervalues the ASC and the important work that our members do.  This means the cost of membership needs to increase for the ASC to be a viable association that can actually support branches and members.  We are still committed to our non-profit status, but it is illegal for non-profits to operate at a loss. We need to be sustainable and set the membership fee at a sustainable level.  So, as of 1 January 2016 the new membership fee will be $185.00 for members, $85.00 for students and associates.  We will honour current rates until then.

We appreciate that some members will be disappointed by an increase in their membership fees. But at this critical time for the ASC, we hope that the majority of members will choose to show their support by renewing their memberships and in so doing, help us to build a better, more sustainable and professional association that can deliver greater outcomes for professional science communicators and science journalists throughout the country. Of course, we would like to be thoughtful about our approach and we invite comment from members by emailing members@asc.asn.au.

Thanks to all for your ongoing support.

Professor Joan Leach

ASC President

 

President’s Update

Thank you to Joan Leach for the President’s Update.

Save the date! 11 March 2016

I’m very pleased to announce that the next ASC conference will be in Brisbane in March 2016. We have tried to tie in our next meeting with the World Festival of Science so that our members who are involved can make their travel dollars go further. Also, we hope that as the WFS announces its program ASC members might satisfy their curiosity at the festival and enjoy networking time with ASC members as well. Our venue and program will be announced shortly. But, circle that date and plan to be in Brisbane. We’re going to organise the 2016 conference into one packed day for ASC and break out events during the World Festival of Science. More news coming…

Issues for AGM?

ASC is gearing up for its AGM and a SGM to consider the ASC constitution. If you have any queries you would like to put to me personally, please do so at j.leach@uq.edu.au. I’m also very interested to hear about colleagues who would like to join the executive of ASC so please get in touch if you’d like to get more involved.

President’s update

Thank you to Joan Leach for the President’s update.

Season’s Greetings

It’s that time of year when every organisation needs to get in its AGM, settle its accounts, and clear its books! While this is not the most festive of activities, it does signal the end of the year and time for a bit of reckoning. I’m very pleased to say that the ASC is going very well indeed. We held the AGM at ANU CPAS (Centre for Public Awareness of Science) in the famed green couch room on the 5th of December. Some highlights from the AGM:
  • On behalf of the membership, I thanked our voluntary executive for 2014—Pete Wheeler (Treasurer), Sarah Lau (Secretary), Claire Harris (VP and Communications team), Ian McDonald (Grants program), Will Grant (VP), and our amazing executive officer, Kali Madden.
  • We learned that we are solvent and our treasurer and executive officer (with help from our bookkeeper/auditor) are looking at the details of our tax situation and our status as a not-for-profit. We hope to finalise our books by the end of the year.
  • Ian McDonald announced the winners of our inaugural grant round (see more on this in this issue of SCOPE)
  • We discussed upcoming conference opportunities and an ASC strategy to give our members more chances to interact
  • We learned about some of the stellar events our branches have put on this year—this gave us a lot to think about as the most successful branches are hitting the sweet spot of offering members a few signature events each year, not overloading the calendar, but putting their best into some quality networking events.
  • I was delighted to accept the Presidential nomination and will serve as ASC president for 2015.
The year has ended on a very high note for me, though continued reports of cutting in the area of communications from many organisations is gloomy. I’ll address the ‘highs’ here and ASC will continue to try to tackle the lows by advocating for science communication at every opportunity. My ‘end of the year event’ was a science policy workshop run at the Academy of Science on the 5th of December.  You can check it out here. It was a rather incredible day where scholars, communicators, and policy-makers discussed some of the key features of using humanities and social research to effect policy and communicate effectively (spoiler: go to Cameron Muir’s talk about narrative; powerful stuff!). At the event, I was struck at the  number of science communicators in the audience and very pleased to hear sci comm concerns getting equal billing on the day. That day underscored for me the need for science communicators and this was clearly endorsed by the policy makers in the room.

I hope that everyone takes a bit of time out at the end of the year to recharge and connect with friends and family.  I look forward to starting afresh in the New Year.

Official Notice of ASC National AGM – Canberra, 5 December 2014

This is the official notice of the Australian Science Communicators’ Annual General Meeting, to be held in Canberra, ACT on 5 December 2014.

The AGM is an opportunity for members to hear about the year’s events at the national level, and also to have their say about what should happen in the year to come. It also includes reports from the President and Treasurer.

When: Friday 5 December 2014, 6.00pm
Where: Physics Link Building, Building 38A at ANU (Ground Floor)
RSVP: via Eventbrite
Cost: free for ASC members (only currently financial ASC members are eligible to attend the AGM)

Presidential Nomination

I am pleased to announce Associate Professor Joan Leach, from the University of Queensland and current ASC President, has been nominated for the role of ASC President in 2015. Read Joan’s nomination statement.

Proxies

Members unable to attend the AGM in person are able to give proxies to other members attending the meeting. This means that unless members are at the physical meeting in Canberra, you will need to designate a proxy to vote.

To designate your proxy:

  • Download and complete the proxy form, and ensure a copy of this form is with your proxy to take to the AGM (Appointment of Proxy 2014)
    • Check one box only for the proposed Constitutional amendment
    • If you do not provide voting instructions in these sections, you authorise the proxy holder to decide how the proxy will vote
    • Notify the National Secretary, Sarah Lau (slau@chemcentre.wa.gov.au) – this must be done or the proxy and vote is not considered valid
    • Ensure that the proxy form is completed prior to 4.00pm ADST on Friday 5 December 2014

Please note that votes will remain confidential at all times. All voting instructions and proxy forms will be collected and destroyed at the conclusion of the AGM.

Australian Science Communicators
Annual General Meeting 2014
Agenda

Items for Discussion

  1. Confirmation of members attending, apologies
  2. Notification of proxies
  3. Minutes of 2013 AGM
  4. President’s report
    1. Discussion: ASC national conferences
    2. Discussion: Branch management and national support during periods of decreased activity
  5. Treasurer’s report
    1. presentation of statement of accounts
    2. determination of annual membership fee
    3. determination of capitation to be returned to branches
    4. determination of honoraria
    5. appointment of auditor
    6. appointment of public officer
    7. preview of 2015 budget
  6. Election of 2015 ASC President
  7. Motion to amend the Constitution
    1. 4.3 Membership: “Membership fees will be adjusted annually in line with the Consumer Price Index”
  8. Branch matters and annual reporting
  9. Announcement of ASC Grants Program recipients
  10. Any other business

 

Further information

2014 AGM agenda 141127
ASC AGM 2013 Draft Minutes Web
ASC AGM Constitution Change Notice 141127
Appointment of Proxy 2014