SpeakOut
April 2014
3
From thePresident
Themomentumof theyear continues togrowaswe
deliver this
SpeakOut,
suggesting that 2014will be
oneof thebusiest andmost significant yearsyet for
SpeechPathologyAustraliaand itsmembers.
By now youwill have received a copy of the
StrategicPlan 2014–2016whichwill guide the
Association over the next three years. The three
strategic imperatives – Influence, Professional
Standards, FutureReady – underpinnedby
professionalism, excellence, client focus, and
innovation provide a strong framework for the
Association. The goals andobjectives reflect
a professional environment that will undergo
considerable change over the next few years.
I hope that asmembers youwill be excitedby
this plan andwill engagewithSPA inwhatever
capacity you can to execute these goals. You
told us in your feedbackwhat youwanted, and
I believe that this plan reflects your collective
input. The success of its implementation relies
heavily on your engagement with theAssociation
at local, Branch, and national levels.
A very successful global launch of the
ICP2014 occurred late February through a
GoogleHangout with the participation of
representatives from six speech pathology
associations. I hope thatmany of youwatched
this event live, or have since been able to view
it. Therewas considerable interest around
theworldwith 368people signing up for the
Hangout, 167people live-viewing the event and
over 400 viewing it onYouTube. TheHangout
resulted in over 500,000 tweets, a classic
example of the power of social media, and
the extraordinary reach of this form of media.
With the ICP2014 now officially launched, we
must now operationalise our activities for the
year. To this end, theWeek of IncreasedAction
(5–11May) will highlight the goals of ICP2014
around theworld and heighten awareness of
communication disability. SPAwill run a daily
email campaign to invitemembers tobe involved
during thisweek of international effort, aswell
as toprovide news of activities around the
world.We encourage our large student cohort
to exercise their enthusiasm, intelligence, and
creativeminds to ‘spread theword’ about
communication disorders during thisweek and
throughout the year. SpeechPathologyWeek in
August will have a renewed focus onNation for
Communication, our national campaign for the
ICP2014.
TheSenate Inquiry has been initiatedwith over
310 submissions presented to theCommittee,
an excellent outcome for this very important
and strategic initiative. The planning for hearings
and site visits around the country by theSenate
Committee is underway and all memberswill be
informed of this program in due course.
It is that time of the year againwhen the
ResearchGrant Program is open for
applications. These grants provide seed funding
to enable ourmembers todevelop and initiate
research projects thatmay ultimately lead to
larger projects and contribute to the evidence
base of the profession. I strongly encourage
you to apply for these grants to support your
research.
As part of SPA’s commitment toProfessional
Support and theMentoringProgram, Meredith
Prain, Professional Support Advisor, will
contribute a regular column to
SpeakOut
beginningwith this issue. This is an important
program and one that I am sure all members
will be keen to hearmore about. In further news
fromNational Office, wewelcome two new staff
members: CathyOlsson, Project Consultant,
Disability, andDr RonelleHutchinson, Manager,
Policy andAdvocacy.
Includedwith this edition of
SpeakOut
is the
2013Annual Report that will be presented at
theAnnual General Meeting at theNational
Conference inMay. I hope thatmany of youwill
attend theConference andwill take the time
to join theBoard of Directors, our CEO, and
National Office staff at theAGM to review the
considerable achievements of theAssociation in
2013. I look forward to seeingmany of you there.
DeborahTheodoros
National President
