Media Release - 2006

Between April 26 and May 14 celebrations marking Australia’s fifth annual Innovation Festival will be held in centres across the nation.

For the fourth year, Narrabri will be taking part in the annual event.

Once again, organiser, Mr Peter Smith, has secured some top-line speakers and attractions for the Narrabri Innovation Festival which will be held on Monday, May 8. Admission will be free.

Mr Smith said Narrabri had gained wide recognition in innovation circles for its contribution to Australian Innovation Week.

"Our particular focus on rural and regional-based ideas at our festival has won favourable comment from many quarters," said Mr Smith.

He said three innovators featured at the Narrabri Innovation Festival in the past had been featured on television and at national agricultural field days," he said.

"This year the emphasis is on keeping bright ideas within Australia and developing them as marketable concepts," he said.

Mr Smith said this year’s Innovation Festival would again be staged at The Crossing Theatre.

"Once again there will be stalls from exhibitors and innovators.

"There will be inventions on display and two patent attorneys will be available for half-hour consultations with innovators," he said.

This year the keynote speaker will be Mr Alex Crossley, of the Kaizen Institute - a global organisation which assists companies to become more competitive.

Mr Smith said he hoped a large audience would be on hand to hear Mr Crossley’s address.

"Mr Crossley provides a consulting service to some of the world’s largest companies.

‘His talk on ‘lean innovation’ should be well worth hearing and many businesses, large and small, could gain useful knowledge by attending the talk," he said.

Another feature of the Narrabri event will be the staging of an ‘Innovations Connection’ seminar.

"This segment will target people in the banking, finance, legal, investment and consulting sectors," he said.

This segment is being run by AusIndustry.

Once again there will be a ‘Bright Ideas’ competition for the general public whereby people will be asked to contribute their thoughts on inventions which are needed to make life easier.

"We want people to write out their bright idea, add their name and address and put it in a box at The Crossing Theatre.

"There will be a category for school-age children," said Mr Smith.

"There will be prizes for the best ideas," he said.

Mr Smith said he hoped children from Narrabri and district schools would attend the Festival.

Mr Smith said the Narrabri Innovation Festival was one of only three regional festivals of its type in NSW.

"Who knows, we could first see an idea from Narrabri which holds a solution for climate change problems, coping with an aging population, or developing new ways of facilitating succession planning," he said.

"How many people are using an innovation on a local farm that they’ve developed themselves and have never thought about marketing the idea?" asked Mr Smith.

The latest news on the Australian Innovation Festival (including the Narrabri event) can be found at www.austinnovation.com.au  or www.ausinnovation.org