Technorama: background

History

The foundation of what is now known in Australia as Technorama Incorporated was created in 2008 when four passionate technologists (John Maizels, Chris Deacon, Mike Tobin, and Steve Hutson) were appointed as founding members of the CBAA’s Technical Standing Committee.

The team identified that an annual get-together of technologists was desperately needed as a community-building activity for sector technologists, and that the meeting would need to be held independently of CBAA National Conference.

The first stand-alone Technorama event was held in September 2009, and since then Technorama conferences have been hosted annually1 in Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra and Sydney.

In 2010 the founding team was joined by Tim Borgas, and in 2015 by Stephen Wilkinson.  All the team members are committed technologists with extensive personal involvement in community broadcasting, and collectively they have roughly four hundred years of experience between them.

In 2015 the unincorporated group reformed as a legally constituted not-for-profit Association:  Technorama Incorporated.

In 2018 at TR18 in Melbourne, the constitution was updated in a way helpful to succession planning.  The organisation also made its first major inroads into redressing the very poor gender balance that exists in the ranks of media technologists.   In a sector where 2% female participation would be regarded as unusually high, around 20% of Technorama members identify as female or gender diverse.

In 2023 at the deferred 2022 Annual General Meeting, the constitution was further updated to streamline operations and improve succession planning.  The changes reduced the number of elected committee members, created possibility of up to two appointed committee members, and instantiated the position of “Immediate Past President”.

Aims

Our vision for Technorama is that it becomes the focal point which brings technologists together, and supports their efforts.   At the Technorama 2015 event, the meeting unanimously adopted the following set of objects for Technorama:

  1. To further the education and development of technologists within  community broadcasting, and to provide opportunities for interaction
  2. To conduct conferences, seminars and events in support of these aims
  3. To engage in any other activities, real or virtual, in support of these aims

These objects have been absorbed into the registered Constitution of Technorama Incorporated.

Our Credo

In support of the aims, we  develop approaches and policies that guide our thinking.  In particular, we intend to:

  • encourage communications and development of relationships between all participants who touch on technology within community broadcasting
  • stimulate discussion
  • support the sector and encourage participants to become Members of Technorama
  • research and develop best-of-breed tools to provide services that we need to support Technorama itself
  • make that research and those tools available to our Members
  • package what we learn so that future deployments become faster and less risky
  • encourage discussion within our community to bring out pockets of knowledge, experience, resources and support, to benefit both our Members and the Community Broadcasting Sector at large
  • proactively do our part to build the ecoculture that extends across
    • community radio stations and their operations
    • sources of technology education
    • suppliers who provide hardware, software, and services to our sector
    • the commercial broadcasting industry
    • the media in general
    • industry peak bodies and professional associations
  • provide appropriate levels of recognition, reward and return-on-investment to everyone who contributes their volunteer skills and effort to the Technorama cause
  • be fair and honest in all our dealings

Technorama events:

  • 1CBAA2008 Alice Springs
  • TR09  Melbourne
  • TR10  Adelaide
  • TR11  Canberra
  • TR12  Adelaide

The 2013 scheduled event was cancelled due to an action of the hosting station

  • TR14  Melbourne
  • TR15  Sydney
  • TR16  Campbelltown (NSW)
  • TR17  Campbelltown (NSW)
  • TR18  Melbourne
  • TR19  Campbelltown (NSW)
  • TR20V  Fully virtualised (response to COVID-19 restrictions, a Sector first)

No event was held in 2021 due to national lockdowns and border restrictions due to COVID-19.

  • TR22Road  Event held in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne (another Sector first)
  • TR23 Planned for Sydney, December 2023

 

1event supported by the former CBAA Technical standing committee.  See Resources page for the presentation.
Updated 230823