Successful summit provides a spotlight on regional issues

An impressive line-up of speakers and panellists shared their thoughts and insights on the future of regional NSW at the recent 2024 Inland Growth Summit held last week in Dubbo at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

More than 200 people travelled from across the state to attend the two-day event, which focused on the theme People and Place.
The seventh summit of its kind, hosted by Regional Development Australia Orana (RDA) Orana, covered topics including circular economics and sustainability, training and education, people and community, rural and remote health and tourism and hospitality.

RDA Orana CEO, Justine Campbell said the summit was about bringing regional people together to share stories and insights from respected leaders in their field about topics that affect the everyday lives of people living and working in regional NSW.

“A massive thank you to the incredible line-up of keynote speakers, including Steve Guy, Bega Group Chair, Barry Irvin, Regional Education Commissioner, The Hon Fiona Nash, award-winning sustainable architect Carol Marra, Spinal Cure Australia Executive Director, Duncan Wallace, Taronga Western Plains Zoo Director, Steve Hinks, and LeaderLife Founder, Joh Leader.” she said.

“What resonated over the two days was the resounding importance of people, our communities, collaborating and capacity building together.

“Each session was a stand out in its own right and we learned so much from each individual panel session,” she said.

“We have received some wonderful feedback from attendees and when asked what was the single most valuable thing they had learned from the summit we had comments like:

• The importance of developing solutions that are specific to the location in which they are being implemented.
• The insight from Joe Williams about the circular economy, and the subsequent discussions about how we see circular behaviours elsewhere in our society.
• Information sharing across the various sectors helps remove the tyranny of distance for rural/regional players.”

Ms Campbell thanked major sponsor MAAS Group Holdings for their continued support for the event and praised their commitment to regional development in the region.