A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT*
[Bill Crocker, Foundation President] ^
There is no doubt that the conference on Developing Oral Communication Competencies in Children, held in Armidale July 12-18, has created a great deal of interest. Letters continue to come asking for copies of the papers. The general purpose of the conference was to examine the nature of communication competence and to suggest ways of fostering it among children. The sixty or so participants, coming from all states and from overseas and representing a very wide diversity of backgrounds, did not achieve consensus, but they did find a considerable agreement as they shared their differing experiences and points of view.
It is not surprising that the conference should have created such interest. The discrediting of the normative approach to the teaching of speech skills has left a void in educational practice. The importance of these skills, however, is now widely recognized. Their significance for the psychological, social and vocational needs of all individuals, and for the society itself, is obvious. Consequently in schools, adult education, business, industry and the service professions there is demand for a better understanding of the process of communication and for help in developing skills of communication.
One of the outcomes of the Armidale conference was the formation of the Australian Communication Association. Some delegates felt strongly that there was a need for an organization which will promote the study of communication, facilitate contacts between people working in the field, act as a sorting-house of information about what is being done in the field in Australia, and encourage the dissemination and application of ways of improving communication. Under the chairmanship of Rod Miller a committee was appointed. The names of the present committee members are listed elsewhere in this Newsletter.
My view is that the focus of the A.C.A. is on interpersonal communication. Under this term I would include the study of person-to-person communication, group discussion, public speaking and writing and the applications of theory and skills in these areas to such activities as teaching, counselling, business, politics, social work, administration and personal relationships. I believe that, vague as its boundaries may be, there is a distinct and recognizable field. It is not centrally concerned with mass media (film, T.V., journalism etc.) communication arts (theatre etc.) or communication technology. A.C.A dos not replace the need for specialist organizations in these cognate fields. Individuals working in those areas may certainly wish to be members of A.C.A, however, since interests will overlap in many places.
This is the first Newsletter. It is intended that the Newsletter should be published four times a year. This issue will go to members only but the next, early next year, will be distributed widely with invitations to potential members to join. The Association will now be the publisher of Australian Scan, which will appear in January and June in each year.
[PAGE 1 ENDS]Elsewhere in this Newsletter you will see a notice about the A.N.Z.A.A.S. conference to be held in Adeliade [sic], 12 - 16 May. The executive hopes to arrange the first meeting of members of A.C.A. after the conference on May 17 and 18. At this meeting we could discuss plans for the First Convention, possibly in January or February, 1981, and a constitution for the Association. It is hoped that members might obtain funding for A.N.Z.A.A.S. and the A.C.A. meeting from their employers.
The executive hopes to develop strong links with the Communication Association of the Pacific. The next convention of C.A.P. will be in Guam in July, 1980 and perhaps some of our members might be able to attend.
There is no doubt that the Association can serve a very important need in Australia. For it to be successful it will need considerable effort from all the founding members. [Signed] Best wishes, Bill Crocker.
* First published in the Australian Communication Review 1(1) (November 1979): 1-2 and reprinted here in the original formatting.
First Upload 7th May, 2004. © Bill Crocker 2004
MLA Referencing information. Bill Crocker, 'A Note From the President'. An ANZCA Dossier. Comp. Steven Maras. 2003. Date of access <http://www.anzca.net/dossier.htm>.Home | About | Contacts | Dossier | Conference | Members | Join | Calls for Papers | Search