I am delighted to welcome you to the PESA 2019 Australian National Wellbeing and Positive Education Conference.
Our theme this year – Belong, Learn, Grow – focusses on:
the breadth of our inclusive community and its spirit of collaboration, as well as the importance of students’ sense of school belonging to their wellbeing
the high-quality learning opportunities our conferences offer, and
the growth of PESA and Positive Education across Australia, as well as the personal and academic growth that students, teachers and the wider community experience when they understand and apply the principles of Positive Psychology.
We are working hard to ensure all delegates not only enjoy a program packed with rich learning, but also have many opportunities to connect with each other in an authentic and meaningful way. There is always so much to be learned from each other through sharing and collaboration.
It is these connections, this sense of belonging, to a community of like-minded people that sparks the ‘magic’ at our conferences.
Our conferences are aimed not only at learning about wellbeing, but also living wellbeing. Working with young people can be joyful and energising, but also personally taxing at times. I encourage you during this conference to treat yourself as you would a good friend. There will be a range of health and wellbeing activities on offer, so please use the three days to be kind to yourself. We are fortunate to be in such a beautiful location – enjoy it!
It has been such a thrill to witness the growth and development of Positive Education since PESA’s establishment back in 2014. At our 2018 conference, I referenced a Victor Hugo quote – There is nothing as powerful as a good idea whose time has come. I truly believe that Positive Education is that good idea, and its time has now come. What a privilege it is to play our part in advancing this crucial field.
I hope you will leave our conference inspired, connected and personally replenished, with a notebook brimming with practical ideas and initiatives and a phone full of wonderful new contacts.
Thank you all for being agents of positive change in your schools, homes and communities.