On Tuesday 19 May, Parks & Leisure Vic/Tas hosted the first knowledge sharing forum for councils and organisations in the sport and active recreation sector across Melbourne.
With over 50 registrations, the event was an overwhelming success and highlighted the strong appetite across the sector for greater connection, collaboration and shared learning around participation, inclusion and active communities. It was incredibly valuable to bring together councils and organisations from across Victoria in one room to openly share challenges, opportunities, innovative ideas and success stories.
What stood out most was the genuine energy and enthusiasm in the room. The strong attendance from a diverse range of councils demonstrated that people were willing to travel and invest their time because this type of forum is needed.
It reinforced that there is a real demand for opportunities that connect like-minded professionals who are passionate about creating healthier, more inclusive and active communities. It was also fantastic to see Parks and Leisure Australia taking the lead in creating this space and encouraging a new generation of potential members to connect through the industry.
Reflecting on the day, we believe we achieved a really strong balance of networking, workshops and interactive activities that encouraged meaningful discussion and collaboration. The event created a safe and welcoming environment where attendees felt empowered to contribute, share ideas and showcase the impactful work happening within their respective councils and organisations.
The four lightning presentations included:
- Fair Access and Inclusion – Hume City Council
- Parks Week – Wellington Shire
- Pathway to Participation – Whittlesea City Council
- From Data to Decisions: Planning Sports Infrastructure While Navigating Local Government – Stonnington City Council
In addition, attendees workshopped the four pillars of the Play Well National Participation Strategy — Place, Partners, People and Programs. We have collated all feedback and insights gathered throughout the sessions and will be presenting the findings and emerging themes to the Board in the near future.
Attendees embraced the challenge of meeting someone new and it was clear that many valuable new relationships and partnerships were formed throughout the forum.
A personal highlight for many was the Polaroid activity, where participants captured a photo and wrote down a goal for 2026. It was a simple but meaningful way for attendees to reflect on their aspirations, while also creating a keepsake and memory from the day.
The feedback received has been overwhelmingly positive. One comment from Tracey at Wellington Shire particularly stood out:
“It was one of the best forums I have attended.”
Post-event, the team have walked away with a renewed sense of energy, motivation and inspiration. The forum reinforced that there is a strong desire across the sector for ongoing connection, collaboration and knowledge sharing.
The team involved are incredibly passionate about continuing to build this network, positively contribute to the industry and create meaningful opportunities for professionals to come together under the PLA banner.
What’s next? We are evaluating and analysing the information collected post event – to identify key themes, opportunities, potential partnerships and continue exploring how we can grow this forum into something even more impactful and sustainable moving forward.
