It is hard to believe, but it is now only 364 days and counting until our next national conference which will be held in Cairns from 20-22 August 2025.
Planning is well underway with our host diocese Catholic Education Diocese of Cairns (CEDC) and with our various working groups pulling together the program and speakers, logistics and event management, liturgies and celebrations, school and diocesan involvement, as well as the financial oversight and risk management.
We are expecting around 1,500 delegates (see story below) and are looking forward to an exciting and valuable professional learning and engagement experience for all those attending.
Under the theme, ‘hope, anchored in faith’, the conference will showcase the best practice programs and initiatives under our three strategic areas – Faith, Excellence and Access, and is an opportunity to listen and learn from other experiences in our local context and internationally. It is also an opportunity to deepen engagement with our parishes, parents and the broader educational community.
A conference like this is not possible without the support of our partners and sponsors and I would like to thank UniSuper, the University of Notre Dame Australia and Australian Catholic University and their leaders, Peter Chun, Professor Francis Campbell and Professor Zlatko Skrbis for once again joining with us to deliver a national gathering for Catholic education in Australia.
I also thank the Queensland Government for their generous support through a tourism grant to contribute to hosting this event in Far North Queensland. Additional partnership and sponsorship opportunities are now available by downloading the prospectus.
I especially acknowledge the support of the new Bishop of Cairns, Most Reverend Joe Caddy AM, and the executive director of CEDC Bill Dixon for offering to host the conference in their diocese.
I was pleased to join the Cairns community for the installation of Bishop Joe last week and it was a wonderful celebration for the Catholic community in Cairns and we look forward to working with them to bring this conference to fruition.
We have launched our new conference website www.2025ACEC.edu.au where you can register to our mailing list and stay up-to-date with all the latest news and notice of early bird registration, speaker updates and the abstract submission process.
We look forward to bringing you more news in the coming months.
Jacinta Collins
National Catholic education executive director
Cairns MP Michael Healy, Catholic Education Diocese of Cairns executive director Bill Dixon, National Catholic Education executive director Jacinta Collins, artist Susan Reys and Cairns Convention Centre general manager Janet Hamilton.