Jeff attended the Australasian Pacific Extension Network (APEN) International Conference at Busselton, Western Australia. Having convened the original International Extension Conference at the Gold Coast in 1992, it was incredible seeing the numbers of people from around Australia (and 14 internationals!) who went to the far reaches of the country to talk ‘extension’ – around the theme of ‘shaping change in the community’.
The 1992 conference spawned the APEN organisation amidst fears that extension was dying – and calls for a different term to be used. But here, almost 2 decades later, extension remained a rallying cry for those facilitating change in agriculture, natural resources and health. Likewise it was clear that the need for evaluation of extension and other interventions is greater than ever.