Griffith University’s Social Marketing experts, part of Griffith Business School, will partner with contentgroup to lead the delivery of an education program to support the inaugural GovComms Festival in November.
Social Marketing @ Griffith works with leading practitioners and thought leaders from across the globe.
Professor Sharyn Rundle-Thiele
Speakers will contribute dozens of hours of free education content within the GovComms Festival.
“The speaker line-up features both global leaders and emerging stars who are at the forefront of innovative approaches that effectively engage citizens,” Social Marketing @ Griffith’s Founding Director, Professor Sharyn Rundle-Thiele, said.
“Government communications need to change and this year’s unprecedented events have shed light on what is and isn’t working.”
“We are excited to be showcasing what government communicators should be doing differently from now on.”
“This is an incredibly generous act of goodwill,” contentgroup CEO and event organiser David Pembroke said.
“To think that one of the best social marketing universities in the world will be providing such a comprehensive program of world class, free education speaks to their commitment to making a difference. I know I speak on behalf of the GovComms Festival community in thanking them for their generosity.”
The GovComms Festival will explore topics including:
- how COVID-19 has changed the way government and public sector organisations communicate.
- the impacts of technology on government communication.
- the critical role of effective communication in successful digital transformation.
The GovComms Festival is part of the OECD’s Government After Shock global dialogue.
“The Griffith team have pulled together an incredibly diverse and skilled group of experts in everything from behavioural science, behaviour change, social marketing and psychology, to economics and big data,” Pembroke said.
“The world of government communication is changing and we all need to change with it to stay relevant.”
“Social Marketing @ Griffith are committed to training professionals to build capacity. By understanding what moves and motivates people we can better serve society’s interests. Communication that brings people with you is the way to go,” Professor Rundle-Thiele said.
“Griffith has already confirmed Professor Jeff French to present at the GovComms Festival. Jeff is a professional academic and business executive who has been a leader in marketing and communications for many years.
“Featured on the cover of Forbes magazine in 2019 and working on smoking prevention since the age of 15, speaker Jeff Jordan is a behaviorist who talks about the things people care about.
“He is also the Founder of Rescue Social Change. In his presentation, Jeff will outline how behaviours can be changed when communications are built to align with peoples’ values.”
Joan Young, one of Australia’s leading marketing researchers, will also speak. Young was the CEO of Colmar Brunton for 10 yearsand now is the Research and Evaluation Director at the Behaviour Change Collaborative.
With social marketing and public health work spanning across 30 countries, speaker Rowena Merritt is a global leader in behaviour change. She is currently serving the UN’s World Food Programme as their Social Behaviour Change and Communication Specialist.
Steve Menzies, known for his work in conservation and climate change, will unpick the process of helping public sector agencies to “sell in” complex behaviour change solutions by creating a process that is “fun, easy and popular”.
The GovComms Festival will occur on 17 November via the online conferencing platform, Hopin. The event is supported by the OECD and the European Commission, the executive branch of the EU.
To register: https://hopin.to/events/govcomms-festival
