FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • FWD+Organise is a conference for grassroots, workplace and community organisers as well as digital advocates, campaigners and activists from organisations representing all sectors. This might mean you:

    - Are part of a grassroots movement or work at a non-profit organisation

    - Make decisions about how your movement organises online and/or offline

    - If in a paid role, have a job title like community organiser or digital campaigner

  • Day 1: Thursday December 5, 9.30AM - 5PM

    Day 2: Friday December 6,  9.30AM - 5PM

  • FWD+Organise will be held in-person in Melbourne at Abbotsford Convent, on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. A selection of sessions will be live-streamed for those who cannot join in-person.

  • Registrations for FWD+Organise will be open until the end of Monday, December 2nd. However, we recommend buying your ticket as soon as possible, in order to get the best price possible as ticket prices will increase closer to the date of the event.

    If you are an organisation purchasing group tickets, names and dietary requirements of all attendees will be due 2 weeks out.


  • FWD+Organise started off as two separate conferences: one focused on digital campaigning (FWD), and one all about community organising (Organise). It quickly became apparent, however, that these two parts of our work can’t, and shouldn’t, be siloed off from each other - and so the two events became one, with a bit of an odd name.

  • Applications for scholarships have now closed.

  • FWD+Organise will take place at Abbotsford Convent - see the event access key here, which includes information on:

    • Auslan interpretation and live captioning

    • Physical access to venues (incl. wheelchair access)

    • How we are making presentation materials accessible

    • Actions for everyone to make sessions inclusive and accessible

    • Companion cards

    If you have any questions about how we are working to make FWD+ORGANISE 2024 accessible, or if there’s anything else you’d like to know, please reach out to info@fwd.org.au.

  • FWD+Organise is fully catered, including morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. By default, all food at FWD+Organise is vegetarian, and other dietary requirements catered to as needed. We will ask your dietary requirements at registration. 

    There will be some food and drink available for participants at all evening socials, as well as the ability to purchase further food and drinks individually.

    We will have a coffee cart that you can purchase coffees and teas from during the event. 

    If you need to bring in additional food or snacks because of medical requirements, etc, this is totally fine - we just ask you not bring hot food into any of the breakout rooms or plenary space.

  • Registration fees are non-refundable, but registrations may be transferred or sold to another person before the conference begins. If you can no longer attend, we encourage you to pay it forward by donating your ticket as a scholarship for First Nations people, people with disability, people of colour and unwaged changemakers.

    Please refer to our cancellation policy here for more information.

  • We ask that everyone purchase their own ticket to FWD+Organise, and this includes if you are attending only one day of the event. This is so we can manage numbers at the venue, as well as catering and other requirements.

    If the cost of tickets is a barrier, please check out the scholarship options here. Full and partial scholarships are available for First Nations people, people with disability, people of colour and people with lived experience seeking asylum who experience financial barriers to attending FWD+Organise 2024.

    We also offer discounts for teams where multiple people are attending FWD+Organise. Contact us at info@fwd.org.au to discuss bulk discounts.

  • Australian Progress honours Companion Cards. Holders of this card are entitled to a complimentary ticket for their companion.

  • The full FWD+Organise program will be published online in October. You will also be able to access speaker bios online.

  • Speakers are primarily drawn from our community of digital campaigning and community organising practitioners. These are people who are ‘doing the work’ - practitioners and experts in their field. Where necessary to find best practice on a specific topic and/or for a global perspective, speakers are sought internationally.

    We focus on centering people speaking from lived experience on areas in which they advocate and campaign. It is a priority to include speakers who are First Nations, people of colour, people with disability and LGBTIQA+ people.

    We look at whether the speaker brings particular subject matter expertise, if they are uniquely placed to share their learnings and lessons, and how their contribution adds to the overall program, objectives and impact.

  • FWD+Organise is a practical, skills based gathering for community organisers and digital campaigners. The focus is ensuring participants leave with practical tools, new skills and innovations that can be applied in their workplaces and movements.

    Sessions are determined by a number of considerations, including suggestions from the Australian Progress team from their in-depth knowledge of the sector, conversations with key practitioners in the progressive space, submissions to ‘Shape the Agenda’ to suggest topics and speakers, and to illustrate the conference themes.

  • We're looking for volunteers to help us behind the scenes on December 4, 5, and 6 - welcoming attendees, setting-up spaces, time-keeping breakouts, tech support, and more!

    Please click here to apply. If you are travelling for the event, you'll need to organise your own transport and accommodation. 

    Places will be filled as we receive applications, so get in quick! If you have any questions please contact us at info@fwd.org.au.