Sydney Harbour Bridge Hosts 6,000 People for ’Breakfast on the Bridge’

SYDNEY, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ — NSW Premier Nathan Rees today confirmed the success of the first breakfast on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

For the first time in its history, Australia’s iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge closed [on Monday] for 6,000 people to enjoy the ultimate picnic breakfast.

Dubbed ’Breakfast on the Bridge’, the free event saw an Australian landmark transformed into the ultimate family venue – including laying 10,000 square meters of Kikuyu grass and the best of local produce and musicians showcased. [...]

"This is Sydney at its very best and another extraordinary event proving we can do anything," said Mr. Rees.

"Images from the event will be sent around the world, highlighting once again our amazing outdoor city.

"The Government’s investment will be returned 10 fold by another boost to our world class reputation," Mr. Rees said.

NSW Minister for Tourism Jodi McKay said Sydney is Australia’s premier events city and Breakfast on the Bridge again demonstrates the city’s ability to host major events.

"This event is a fantastic international advertisement for the energy and vibrancy of Sydney. Picnickers on the bridge were from all around the globe; there were several birthday celebrations and even a successful marriage proposal during the picnic," said Ms McKay.

NSW produce distributed included 9,500 Batlow Apples (Snowy Mountains), 7,000 handmade Cutterway Creek raspberry jam (Southern Highlands), 4,800 loaves of Abbott’s Baker Bread (Sydney), 6,750 Yalla Yoghurt (Riverina) and 6,000 cups of Mocopan coffee.

Set to become an annual fixture on the Sydney events calendar, Breakfast on the Bridge is part of Crave Sydney, a celebration of Sydney’s unmatched way of life with 31 days of food, outdoor art and fun during the month of October.

Sydney’s outdoor lifestyle has developed in response to a warm temperate climate and an extraordinary natural environment, coupled with the breath taking beauty of the harbour and famous architectural icons such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the World-Heritage listed Sydney Opera House.

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Car maker develops its own flower specie
by RICHARD BLACKBURN

Toyota has created two flower species that absorb nitrogen oxides and take heat out of the atmosphere.

The flowers, derivatives of the cherry sage plant and the gardenia, were specially developed for the grounds of Toyota’s Prius plant in Toyota City, Japan.

The sage derivative’s leaves have unique characteristics that absorb harmful gases, while the gardenia’s leaves create water vapour in the air, reducing the surface temperature of the factory surrounds and, therefore, reducing the energy needed for cooling, in turn producing less carbon dioxide (CO2).

The two new plants are part of a wide-ranging plan to reduce the impact of Prius manufacture on the environment.

Since 1990, the plant has reduced CO2 emissions by 55 per cent.

The plant at Tsutsumi has solar panels on its roof to generate electricity and special photocatalytic paint on its exterior walls to absorb harmful airborne gases including Nox and sulfur oxides (Sox).
Inside the plant, some of the light is provided by reflective solar tubes which beam reflected sunlight into rooms, replacing electric light globes, while motion-sensitive lights in the toilet turn off when they are unoccupied.

The office air-conditioning system is kept at a balmy 28 degrees in summer to reduce CO2 output and white collar employees are allowed to wear short sleeved shirts and no ties to compensate for the warmer office temperature.

Even the grass has been specially developed to grow more slowly than conventional lawn. As a result, it only requires mowing once a year, compared with three times for the grass it replaced.
In 2008, Toyota planted 50,000 trees to offset the factory’s CO2 emissions.

Toyota has been criticised by its rivals, who claim the company’s petrol-electric Prius isn’t as green as other conventional vehicles once the car’s manufacturing process is taken into account.
Critics claim the Prius production process creates more CO2 than normal petrol vehicles, nullifying the lower CO2 output of the car itself.

Toyota admits the production process is more CO2-intensive, but says that by the first year of its life, the Prius has wiped out the deficit.
The company also denies its CO2-reducing initiatives are related to the criticism the car has received.

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Companies Report Mixed Attitudes About Social Networking Sites: What Works for Some Creates Problems for Others

A number of employers are encouraging their workers to promote their companies on social networking websites, while others are completely banning such sites at work. MSNBC.com reports that company officials at Symantec Corp. recently began urging employees to "advocate for the company" on sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Samer Forzley, vice president for eBillme, says workers from all departments are offered training on how to use social networking sites to spread company information.

Not everyone sees this as a positive trend. While many companies see social networking sites as an inexpensive way to promote their products and services, employees routinely Tweeting for the benefit of their companies can conceivably create problems for themselves down the road, reports CityTownInfo.com.
"I think what’s at the core of this is a blurring of social and professional," noted Patricia Abril, assistant professor of business law at the University of Miami, who was quoted by MSNBC.com. "Before it was a lot easier to establish when you were wearing your work hat and when you weren’t."
For example, few laws protect employees who are fired because they inadvertently disclosed confidential information about their companies on social networking sites–even if they were encouraged to do so by their employers. And according to Nancy Cornish Rodgers, an attorney with law firm Kissinger & Fellman, not all employees have the skills to effectively and routinely promote their companies.
This may be one reason why only 19 percent of companies allow social networking use on the job for business purposes, according to a study commissioned by Robert Half Technology. Computerworld reports that the survey found that 54 percent of the 1,400 companies that responded have banned workers from using such sites entirely. And only 10 percent allowed employees full access to social networking sites during work hours.
"Using social networking sites may divert employees’ attention away from more pressing priorities," explained Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology in a statement, "so it’s understandable that some companies limit access. For some professions, however, these sites can be leveraged as effective business tools, which may be why about one in five companies allows their use for work-related purposes."

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New carbon calculator for event industry to be launched at International Event Management Summit

A brand new carbon calculator, tailored specifically to the unique needs of event producers and organisers, will be launched at the International Event Management Summit run by the Australian Centre for Event Management (ACEM) in Queensland next week.

The free ACEM Carbon Calculator will enable event managers to measure the carbon impact of events, and will also offer guidance on the steps that can be taken to reduce carbon emissions, providing a valuable resource for anyone working in the Australian events industry.

Developed in association with the Carbon Reduction Institute, the easy to use online calculator will allow event managers to calculate the carbon footprint of events held anywhere in the world.
The free service will provide practical advice on the changes that can be made to events in the planning stages in order to reduce their overall impact – such as in the areas of catering, transport and energy use – and will link to an optional payment gateway, giving event managers the choice of offsetting their carbon footprint once it is calculated in order to create a carbon neutral event.

[...]“Although creating a sustainable events industry is generally seen as important across the whole sector, we’re still finding that many event managers put reducing an event’s environmental impact in the ‘too hard’ basket,” said Rob Harris, Director for the Australian Centre for Event Management.

“This new ACEM Carbon Calculator is a free service we’re offering to the industry, in the hope that it increases the number of event managers taking positive action to reduce the carbon footprint of the projects they’re running.”

The collaborative features of the ACEM Carbon Calculator will enable event attendees to participate in actively reducing their impact in attending an event, through easy to use tools such as discounts for choosing low impact travel and accommodation options.

“The new system will be a key tool for event organisers, not only enabling them to create low impact events, but also offering an option to save details of events for future reference and year on year impact tracking,” Mr Harris said.

The International Event Management Summit will address the theme ‘Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Development’, providing Australian event professionals with a unique opportunity to learn and network with leading event managers and sustainability experts from around the world. [...]

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Virgin Blue and The Black Eyed Peas join music’s Mile High Club

Tuesday 6 October 2009 Brisbane, Australia: On Friday October 9 at 1:00pm in Melbourne Australia, Virgin Blue and internationally acclaimed three time Grammy winners THE BLACK EYED PEAS will become part of music and aviation history as they board flight DJ9001 from Melbourne Airport to Perth where the cheeky Aussie airline and The Black Eyed Peas, will create the ‘Mile High Karaoke Plane’ at 41,000 feet.
In what is set to become an Australian first, The Black Eyed Peas, touring nationally in October, will jam live during the private four hour long flight, ahead of their final Australian concert at Burswood Dome on Saturday.

Nearly 140 V.i.P Guests, including 30 winners from a national competition run by News Limited, will join the Peas onboard and share this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as well as being given the chance to showcase their vocal ability alongside the talented quartet in a mile-high karaoke session.

American fans did not miss out either with 10 tickets on the flight snapped up last week online via a special Ebay charity auction. The winning bidders will now fly half way around the world with V Australia and join the Mile High Karaoke flight from Melbourne. All money raised through the auctions will benefit the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research which aims to improve and to promote the health and well-being of all children through the unique application of multidisciplinary research.

Virgin Blue Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said, “As well as being the official airline for the Australian leg of The E.N.D World Tour, getting the chance to work on such a unique project with The Black Eyed Peas was an opportunity we just couldn’t pass up. It most definitely is an Australian first and who knows, we may even end up breaking a world-record somewhere along the way.”
In contrast to the larger than life visually extravagant light-show of their The E.N.D World stage production, The Black Eyed Peas will make the most of Virgin Blue’s specially modified Boeing 737-800 aircraft for their mile-high performance.

Following three months of intense planning by a team of more than 50 people including engineers, technicians and staging professionals, the aircraft has been transformed into a unique venue which promises a very intimate experience for those lucky enough to be on board. The aircraft also features a specially designed signage decal fitted to its fuselage to mark the occasion.
The Black Eyed Peas have made history with the longest successive stay at the top of the USA Billboard Hot 100 chart with 26 consecutive weeks at number 1. “I Gotta Feeling” has held the top spot for the past fourteen weeks after replacing their first single “Boom Boom Pow” which then spent 12 weeks at number 1. This is the longest consecutive stay for any artist in the Billboard chart’s 51-year history. Official partners of the Mile High Karaoke flight include Virgin Blue Airlines Group (incorporating Virgin Blue, V Australia, Pacific Blue and Polynesian Blue), The Black Eyed Peas, News Limited, Frontier Touring and Universal Music.

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Udorse: Selling Memories For Profit

Advertisers will look anywhere to reach consumers these days. Your personal photos are now as good a place as any.

"Visual endorsement engine" Udorse allows users to link areas of their existing online photo collections directly to the sites of brands which might be featured in them.

They’re not the first to come up with the concept of linking to sites from Flickr images. Udorse does however utilize an affiliate network approach that charges brands while letting users earn a fee for all links that get hits.

While it’s possible for any service like this to be exploited, the company says click-fraud has also been taken into consideration. The purpose here is to take advantage of the countless product shots that invariably end up in peoples’ images.

As with any attempt to monetize social profiles however, the door is still left open for sites like this to have paid reviewers upload shots containing products they don’t use.

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Biennale of Sydney steals the show as winners announced for the 2009 Australian Event Awards

The Australian Open, The Biennale of Sydney, Peats Ridge Festival and Carols by Candlelight SA have been named among Australias most innovative and outstanding events, announced at the 2009 Australian Event Awards in Sydney last night.

The judging panel of event industry experts, co-chaired by Johnny Allen and Sandy Hollway, was particularly impressed with the calibre and diversity of events from all across Australia, from the small-scale events in regional communities to the highly successful international event programs.

"From Australias work in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay to the community events in Warrnambool City Council, the 2009 Australian Event Awards is proud to reward excellence across all sectors of our thriving national events industry," said Johnny Allen, Foundation Director of the Australian Centre for Event Management.

"In the list of winners for 2009 we are also thrilled to see so many different types of events strongly represented, from high-profile industry conferences and local government initiatives, to public festivals and sporting events. We hope this structured, national Awards program will present opportunities for these segments of our talented events industry to strategically work together in the future."

After winning the award for Best Cultural or Arts Event, The Biennale of Sydney also took home the most prestigious prize of the evening, being named the 2009 Australian Event of the Year.

Based on the theme Revolutions: Forms that Turn, the 16th Biennale exhibition was recognised by the judges as the most innovative event in Australia for last year, demonstrating an outstanding example of best practise in the events industry.

Australia’s place in the international events market was recognised in the category for Best Event Export, with Maxxam International receiving the award for their work in planning and executing the Beijing 2008 Torch Relay.

"Major events in Australia are increasingly breeding opportunities for a new export industry in events, with Australian experts and companies like Maxxam International being sort after by major events around the world," said Sandy Hollway, formerly CEO of the Sydney Organising Committee for the 2000 Olympic Games.

Event Director Shani Wood was presented with the very high-profile Event Manager of the Year Award, for her outstanding work on one of the worlds most successful new motor sport events, The Red Bull Air Race World Championship.

The Young Achiever of the Year Award went to Katerina Pitsikas, from DGSE (now DG3), who produced an incredible 28 events in 52 weeks, including 9 interstate and 2 overseas. T

he South Australian Tourism Commission was awarded Best Tourism Event for Tour Down Under, an eight-day event combining Australias largest ever professional road cycling race with associated free events throughout Adelaide and forty towns in regional South Australia.

Nominated as a finalist in a record three categories, The Australian Open claimed the title of Best Sporting Event, attracting more than 600,000 fans to the Rod Laver Arena in 2009.

2Fish were also rewarded for their work with The Australian Open, taking home the award for Best Achievement in Design for their work on the Lacoste Palace activated across three separate sites throughout the Grand Slam Tennis tournament.

Other proud award recipients included the Adelaide Fringe Festival for Best Partnership by a Business or Media Outlet, the Avocado Group for Best Achievement in Catering, and Peats Ridge Festival for Best Achievement in Sustainability.

The 2009 Australian Event Awards is the national awards program to reward innovation, recognise excellence and unite the entire Australian Events Industry. For more information about the Australian Event Awards and to register for updates, visit http://www.eventawards.com.au

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