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A conference held in Rotorua has been heralded a great success and booster shot for an industry hammered by Covid.
The AuSAE's LINC general manager, Brett Jeffery, said the highlight of the conference, which focused on ideas and networking with influential leaders, ''was the sense of unity and belonging to a community''.
"Yes, they were there for insights and education, however, the conversations that were generated made the conference feel very special. I believe the biggest issue associations that hold conferences will face will be getting numbers to the conference, whether they be corporate exhibitors, speakers or delegates."
Jeffery said niche conferencing was potentially going to be the future of conferencing for the next 12 to 18 months.
The LINC conference was held at Energy Events Centre with a welcome function at Te Puia and conference dinner at Skyline Rotorua, under the red setting rules of 100 people.
Energy Events Centre business events key accounts manager Warren Harvey said working through all the Covid protocols had its challenges.
"We learnt we could host and deliver a conference under red-light restrictions, however, our message to the Government would be let us host larger business events, learn from what is happening globally and have some commonsense policies that allow us to get on with business."
Help for farmers and businesses fighting Covid
More government funding is being pushed into support for farmers and growers who have to deal with Omicron.
Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor said $400,000 has been allocated to support primary producers with contingency planning and response if a farmer or grower catches Covid.
"The funding will bolster the resources of Rural Support Trusts and other organisations, including those supporting Māori agribusinesses, to help them respond to cases.
It would help ensure there's someone that farmers and growers can speak to and provide guidance should they or their staff be dealing with Omicron, he said.
''The Rural Support Trusts are well woven into rural communities to provide wrap-around support services.''
Wage support was also available through the Leave Support Scheme for people affected during this stage of the Omicron outbreak.
"This is available to employers, and also includes self-employed people, to help pay their employees who've been advised to self-isolate because of Covid and can't work at home during that period. It's paid at the same rates as the wage subsidy was previously, that being $600 per week per fulltime worker and $359 per week per part-time worker.''
Sustainable sign of the times
More Rotorua businesses are installing items like sustainable display lights and other technologies to minimise their e-waste footprint.
Mike Toweel, chief executive of sustainable in-store display provider VitrineMedia New Zealand, says Rotorua was quickly becoming one of its most prominent markets.
Some businesses were working to deal with e-waste despite an absence of incentives and schemes.
Tim O'Sullivan, of Ray White Rotorua, said it was actively seeking out environmentally friendly alternatives wherever possible, especially more cost-effective and energy-efficient alternatives.
"We understand that sustainable shopfronts are the future of Main Street within New Zealand's carbon-neutral future, so we've decided to get on the front foot and, wherever practical, direct investment toward innovative and sustainable visual merchandising solutions.''
Technology and Innovation winner
Salt + Tonic, which won the Innovation and Technology award at the Rotorua Business Awards, has spent the past 12 months in design mode creating interactive apps.
Director Matt Browning said he was blown away with the award and it felt great to be acknowledged.
The company had achieved some major milestones in the past year but tended to fly under the radar.
''We realised that we haven't done a very good job of telling people in Rotorua what we do.''
Browning said creating the first te Reo Māori transcription app in the world - with an automated marking system regardless of iwi dialect and pronunciation differences - was a highlight.
Another favourite project was an augmented and virtual-reality platform for one of Justin Bieber's New York choreographers, to create an interactive climate change experience.
Salt + Tonic also contributed towards DOTDOT's nomination for a global Webby award for an interactive Zoom conference alongside Adobe, and Browning said 2022 was shaping up to be a great year.