Social program

Welcome Reception

Time: 18:00 – 19:30
Date: Tuesday 25 July 2017
Venue: Outdoor Plaza, Cairns Convention Centre
Tickets: Included in full registration, $50 for day registrations and additional tickets

Join us at the Outdoor Plaza to begin the conference with drinks and finger food. Network with fellow attendees and build the excitement towards the program. Highlights will include a close encounter with two iconic Australian animals and a didgeridoo performance.

Conference Dinner

Time: 19:00 – 22:00
Date: Monday 31 July 2017
Venue: Hall C & D, Cairns Convention Centre
Tickets: $80 (standard), $50 (student), $50 (under 18)

Join us for the Conference Dinner on Monday evening. Hall C & D will be transformed into a comfortable space to eat, spend time with your colleagues and enjoy the evening.

Weekend Tours

Take advantage of the weekend break in the middle of the conference program and reserve a place on one of the amazing tours offered through Destination Cairns Marketing to receive your special 10% discount. You can book online via: Cairns Conferences or at the tour desk during the conference.
As July and August are peak season in Cairns, it is highly recommended that you pre-book your tour to avoid disappointment.

Public lecture

Australia, the land of things that bite, sting and kill! Is it really that bad?

Speaker: Dr. Jamie Seymour

Time: Wednesday 26 July 2017

Associate Professor Jamie Seymour or the "Jelly Dude from Nemo land" has been researching and working with venomous and dangerous animals for over 20 yrs with his present interest being "Why do animals have venom?" Based in Cairns, in Northern Australia, an area that has an over abundance of venomous animals, he is uniquely placed to study the ecology and biology of Australia's venomous species. He teaches at all levels at James Cook University, one of the top 5% of research universities in the world with his favourite subject being "Venomous Australian Animals", a subject designed and taught by this effervescent academic.

He has been successfully involved in programs designed to decrease the envenomings of humans by jellyfish, namely in Australia, Timor Leste (for the United Nations), Thailand and Hawaii. His research has been directly responsible for changes in the present treatment protocol for Australian jellyfish stings. He established and is the director of the Tropical Australian Venom Research Unit (TASRU) which is now recognised as one of the premier research groups in the world for the studies of the ecology and biology of box jellyfish and research into medical treatment of box jellyfish envenomings.

Accompanying Persons Program

We look forward to welcoming accompanying persons to Cairns. The accompanying person registration includes entry to the Welcome Reception, morning and afternoon teas (with delegates at the conference venue), the exhibition and the public lecture. There will be a special Australiana themed Accompanying Persons Welcome which is also included. Tours on conference program days can be booked at an additional cost online via: Cairns Conferences or at the tour desk during the conference, although it is highly recommended that you pre-book your tour to avoid disappointment