Connecting Young People in Agriculture
5/2/2018
On Saturday the 20th of January the first event for 2018 hosted by AGCONNECTWA was it's yearly cocktail party. The focus of the night was to increase social opportunities for the younger population of the agricultural industry.
On Saturday the 20th of January the first event for 2018 hosted by AGCONNECTWA was it's yearly cocktail party. The focus of the night was to increase social opportunities for the younger population of the agricultural industry.The event had typically been held as a river cruise, but this year it was held on land. It provided an opportunity for the industry to be celebrated and for young people to make valuable professional and personal connections.
The aim of AgConnectWA has always been to educate, engage, advocate, connect, and support the next generation of professionals in the agricultural industry. Membership of the organisation has increased dramatically over the years with members expressing increasing support for the event.
AgConnectWA realises that it is not just young farmers that need to be reached but also other young people in metropolitan areas, regional areas and rural areas alike. The aim for 2018 is to engage new young people in agriculture and to help facilitate new connections for them so they can growth the future of the industry together.
The annual cocktail party is not the only event that the organisation hosts. You can also look forward to their regional sundowner events, the AgTiki wine tour, their annual general meeting and conference along with other educational and networking activities.
Apart from the range of social occasions they will also focus on improvements throughout 2018 that will benefit each member of the organisation.
The body is looking forward to developing a website to promote themselves and to gain new supporters and members. They also want to increase the amount of professional and educational events for this year. So we may see them revisit some of the functions they have held in previous years that will align with this goal.
Events from previous years include activities such as the 2016 mock parliament in the Legislative Assembly. Featuring representatives from The Young Nationals, WA Young Greens, WA Young Liberals and WA Young Labor, the event was open to both members and non-members of AgConnectWA. Speakers spoke about real life issues in the industry.
There was also the Rural Roots to City Suits which was also held in 2016 when the organisation teamed up with the Perth Young Professionals. This event had the aim of bridging the gap between the city business and agriculture.
Both of the above programs were very successful, and are the types of events that may be revisited in 2018 said committee member Ms Goad.
The committee is made up of Vice President Henry Gratte along with committee members Geoffrey Dwyer, Brett South, Georgia Trainor, Georgia Reid, Callum Wesley and Carris Waite.
