News Reports     

Going underground with the University of Birmingham

Opening Doors & Venues are thrilled to be providing On-line Registration and Project Management Services for GPR 2008, The 12^th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar.

The University of Birmingham won the bid to host this prestigious bi-annual event in June 2008 with the support of Marketing Birmingham.  It will be the first time it has been held in UK with previous host locations being Columbus, Ohio in 2006, Delft, The Netherlands in 2004 and Santa Barbara, California in 2002.

For Rose Padmore, Conference Organiser and owner of Opening Doors & Venues, this is another opportunity for her to explore a subject that she would otherwise never come into contact with and says; “GPR2008 is a prime example of the richness of this industry, because I feel excited by learning and just love meeting and working alongside diverse and fascinating people.”

Ground Penetrating Radar can be operated both inside and outside buildings and is most commonly used for locating buried objects, mapping the depth of water tables and identifying soil horizons.  Particularly used by Archeologists, geologists and civil engineers, GPR works by emitting radio-frequency electromagnetic energy pulses into the ground, with a computer processing the reflected signals and then producing a visual representation of the grounds subsurface.

“The University enthusiastically supports the GPR2008 Conference and welcomes the opportunity to engage with such a prestigious international scientific organisation.”  Professor Mike Cruise, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Knowledge Transfer).

For further information visit:  www.gpr2008.org.uk

A match made in digital heaven!

Having developed a very successful and trusted working relationship during 2007 when co-delivering a number of Digital Futures events across the Northwest for Northwest Vision + Media, Opening Doors & Venues and nmp are set to continue their partnership.

nmp, who provide research, analysis and consultancy services across the technology media and telecoms sectors and creative industries, have since been contracted by CIDS (Creative Industries Development Service) to design and deliver the Marketing Match programme in the Northwest.

“I didn’t hesitate to call Rose at OD&V asking if she would dovetail her services with us again to help deliver some events”, says Danny Meaney, MD of nmp, “because I really like the way she works, she gives me total confidence and, very importantly, we have shared values.”

The ongoing partnership between nmp and OD&V will provide future growth opportunities for both parties, with nmp being able to expand their own Training and Events programme knowing it will be supported by OD&V’s accurate and efficient project management services.

www.nmp.biz

Digital Futures North West

Opening Doors & Venues have successfully achieved an exciting six month contract to provide a series of events for Media Training North West.

To deliver the events OD&V have teamed up with Media industry buffs nmp Ltd who provide research, analysis and consultancy services across the technology media and telecoms sectors and creative industries.

This new partnership means that OD&V will provide the delivery and logistics with nmp Ltd the design and development of content for a series of events including conferences, seminars and academies to run from February to July 2007 and to be held throughout the North West.

The overall aim of this programme of events is to equip the region’s freelancers, sole traders and SME’s with the right skills to compete in a digitized media industry. 

For further information visit www.digitalfuturesnw.com.

West Midlands Regional Partnership DDA Conference 

Eleven Regional Partnerships for Special Educational Needs were recently tasked by the DfES with hosting information dissemination events entitled; Implementing the Disability Discrimination Act in Schools and Early Years Settings. The West Midlands event took place at the end of June and was held in the fantastic new conferencing facilities at Aston Business School, Management Development Centre.
The conference, attended by over 120 delegates from schools and local authorities across the region, was designed to demonstrate the implications of the new Disability Discrimination Act, introduce new resources, share best practices using results from pilot studies and initiate further information sharing at local levels.
“We were very pleased to get this contract as it is a perfect example of an event where the message to be communicated is valuable and we are instrumental in its accurate delivery” says Rose Padmore of Opening Doors & Venues. “This is important to us as a company and certainly what we do best.”
Opening Doors and Venues were selected for the management of this event due to previous contracts with similar organisations and for the level of emotional commitment and support offered.
Feedback and comments from delegates and speakers have been very favourable and the overall conclusion, relayed on behalf of the DfES by Alison Thompson of the SEN and Disability Division, was “From our side of things we felt that the event went extremely well and were impressed with the organisation and venue.”
 

Children’s Fund Participation Conference  

On the 8th March 2006, Opening Doors and Venues project managed a one-day conference at the Think Tank Birmingham, on behalf The Children’s Fund. The conference was co-hosted by The Children’s Fund, DfES Sure Start and Connexions and attended by 140 delegates and 43 children and young people from 16 West Midlands regions.

The conference emphasised and illustrated the importance of providing opportunities for children and young people to participate in their respective regions. The programme included keynotes speeches and dissemination presentations as well as interactive activities and workshops. Throughout the day there were performances from the children and young people attending including poetry readings, dances and raps.

Additionally, a ‘marketplace’ was held in the registration area which allowed each participating regional Children’s Fund to display and demonstrate their funded projects. These included an evaluation pod staffed by children and young people from Birmingham schools, giving delegates an opportunity to review the day and meet those participating.

The venue proved to be successful and ideally suited for the wide ranging ages of all attendees, while delegates were involved in the main conference, children and young people had the chance to visit the Think Tank museum and innovation centre.

Feedback from the conference was positive and it is hoped successful in promoting future action.