Strategic Communications and Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty

Presented by the Victorian Health and Biomedical Communicators' Network

About the event

From paintings on cave walls to global live broadcasts, humans have always communicated to connect and survive. Today, professional communicators work at the sharp edge of change — facing a fast-evolving media landscape shaped by social media, misinformation, AI, and increasing public scepticism.

As health and biomedical communication professionals, our work spans marketing, media, stakeholder engagement, government relations and public affairs. Our environments are high-stakes. Our audiences are diverse. Our strategies must adapt.

How do we influence change in a world of uncertainty?

Our keynote: Dr Norman Swan AM

We’re delighted to welcome Dr Norman Swan, award-winning journalist, author and science communicator, to open the forum.

Norman will reflect on the seismic shifts in science and health communication since we last gathered — before the COVID-19 pandemic and extended Victorian lockdowns. From pandemic misinformation to the AI boom and Trump v2, what have we learned? What role does trust play now? Where do we go from here?

Norman is well known to many of us as co-host of The Health Report on ABC Radio National, contributor to 7.30, and author of three best-selling books on health, ageing, and parenting. He was awarded the Gold Walkley and an AM for his service to health journalism.

What to expect

This is a forum by communicators, for communicators — designed to inspire, challenge and energise.

Join your peers for:

• Real-world case studies on strategic collaboration, innovation and lessons learned from failure
• A panel discussion on the evolving identity of comms teams — what separates marketing from communication, and how our roles are shifting
• A deep dive into working with government — how to build productive relationships and influence outcomes
• An interactive session on AI — exploring best-practice uses of artificial intelligence in communication and what it means for our profession

Who should attend?

This forum is for communication professionals working in or around health, healthcare and biomedical research, from hospitals, public health, medical research institutes, universities, government, not-for-profits, and beyond. Whether you're a media manager, digital strategist, science communicator or stakeholder engagement lead, this event is for you!

Please note that this event operates on a cost-recovery basis and ticket sales will strictly close 7 days prior to the event and ticket numbers are limited.

We can’t wait to see you there.

This event is sponsored by 

www.trialscreen.org 

Program at a glance