Join Us in Alice Springs!
Latest News!
We are pleased to announce the launch of our Mentoring Program for New CRC Bids at this years Pathfinders Conference. Click HERE to read more.
Welcome
I would like to extend a warm welcome to all prospective delegates to the CRCA Pathfinders Conference which is taking place in Alice Springs 26 to 28 May 2010. We (the committee) are delighted to be offering an exciting, challenging and thought-provoking program with some exceptional speakers and an equally vibrant range of social activities.
Nestled between the beautiful MacDonnell Ranges and surrounded by gorges and stark desert plains, this outback township offers a delicious contrast to the usual conference experience. It might surprise you to find the Territory’s third largest city, and situated just 200 kilometres north of the geographic centre of Australia, ‘The Alice’, as it is affectionately known, is home to people with a love of hot desert days, clear cold nights, and a wry sense of humour.
Known as Mparntwe (pronounced mbarn-twa) the Arrernte people believe that Alice Springs was created by the actions of several ancestral figures including the caterpillar beings Ayepe-arenye, Ntyarlke and Utnerrengatye, the MacDonnell Ranges being but one of their creations. Creation stories also describe traditional links with areas as far afield as Urlatherrke (Mt Zeil) in the West MacDonnell Ranges and Port Augusta in South Australia. Arrernte people continue to live in Mparntwe, observe traditional law, look after the country and teach children the Arrernte language and the importance of their culture.
We look forward to you joining us for what will be a unique experience, one enjoyed without the distractions of everyday life. Alice Springs is a vibrant town and is the perfect venue in which to engage budding scientists as the future of science and innovation is in their hands.
Kind regards,
Jan Ferguson.
Managing Director
Desert Knowledge CRC
Conference Chair
CRCA Pathfinders 2010