Additional Workshops (Mon 4th December) and the Early Career Program (Tues 5th-Thurs 7th December)

Registered Conference Delegates have the opportunity to attend a range of free workshops (Monday 4th December) and/or the Early Career Drowning Professionals Program (Tuesday 5^th to Thursday 7^th December) at the Perth Conference and Exhibition Centre.

If you are in Perth early, why not come to catch up with colleagues, and then register into one of the workshops or stay around for the RIP Current Documentary. 

The workshops are free to attend, however require registration. Note, workshops are capped (as per the attendance numbers indicated). First in first served. Waitlist also available. 

A custom link has been sent to all registered delegates to sign up. If you have yet to receive this link – please reach out to the Conference Team at WCDP2023@rlssa.org.au or visit the Conference Registration desk on location.

Workshop: Flood disaster strategic management (Delegates: 50) 
Monday 4th December 9:00 – 17:00
Adrian Mayhew, Dr Shayne Baker OAM

Continuing the early efforts from Durban WCDP the 1-day workshop will give insights in helping countries in the national management, of flood disaster training, and policy. The workshop will show case the collaboration work of the UK and Australia in creating a national framework for flood/ lifeguard teams that can be adopted and utilised. This framework allows other countries to see what a good well practiced model looks like and examines the levels of capabilities for resources to be trained and managed. 

Workshop: Working with the media (Delegates: 50) 
Monday 4th December 13:00 – 15:00
Dr Amy Peden

Join us for an in-conversation session on tips and tricks for working with the media for drowning prevention. Hear journalist, advocate and researcher views and experiences on the media including tips on amplifying your message, lifting drowning prevention out of a seasonal focus to year-round relevance and how to keep the conversation going beyond knee-jerk media coverage following a drowning incident. This session will be highly interactive featuring a panel discussion and plenty of opportunity for questions from the audience. 

Workshop: Swimming and water safety in the school curriculum (Delegates: 70) 
Monday 4th December 13:00 – 15:00
Riitta Vienola, Toril Hindmarch

Every school child has the right to basic swimming, water safety and safe rescue skills. Advocating to implement policy, practice and programs into education curricula is essential as it reaches a significant portion of the population and can be a powerful tool in addressing water safety education and drowning prevention. It seems that the curricula (frameworks and their scope) vary a lot depending on the country. Some have national/centralized curricula and others regional/local curricula, while some not at all. The workshop will be about 2 hours, starting with short expert presentations and a few examples from different countries followed by group discussions. We invite you to discuss and share ideas and best practice concerning national curricula and water safety.

Super-powering Lifeguarding with AI and Other Advanced Management Tools
Monday 4th December 13:00 – 15:00
RJ Houston, Daniel Mulvey,  Matteo Ferrarini, Adam Bismit, Bernadette Matthews, Shaun Jackson, Todd McHardy, Mel Atkins,  Elizabeth van Deventer, Duncan Hutton.

This session will showcase the latest advancements in drowning detection artificial intelligence showcasing technologies from Israel, Italy & beyond as well as brand new innovative scanning and supervision training modules for pool lifeguards which seek to lift standards and improve supervision practices, but critically will discuss and invite participants to consider how we best integrate technology with human behaviours and systems. We invite you to join us, discuss and share ideas and best practice concerning advancing supervision in public pools.

Premier: Rip Current Survival Documentary (Delegates: Not capped)
Monday 4th December 15:00 – 17:00

Come along to the free WCDP screening of the RIP Current Survival documentary, held at PCEC Riverside Theatre. Filmed in over a dozen countries. Rip Current Survival is the world’s first feature length, international rip current safety documentary. This is a story about the world’s greatest beach safety hazard – rip currents – and the efforts being made by scientists, beach safety organizations, drowning prevention agencies and communities, to better understand and manage the impact of these deadly currents.

Early Career Drowning Prevention Professionals Program (Delegates: 50)
Each day (Tuesday to Thursday) prior to first session
Dr Amy Peden

WCDP 2023 is committed to create spaces and activities for early career drowning prevention professionals attending their first or second WCDP event. This will be a series of meet and greets, and additional workshop activities and session held across the conference program.