The first (!) LAST conference to be held in Canberra will happen next month (Thursday, 14 September) at the ANU.
LAST is an acronym short for Lean, Agile and Systems Thinking. LASTconf is a community driven mini-conference of like-minded practitioners.
LASTconf has a different flavour in that it isn't so much about 'show bags', squeezy stress toys, expensive vendor displays, free notebooks, pens or fine dining - although in Sydney I *did* get some stickers, a pen and was fed well... :) The goal of LASTconf is to keep costs as low as possible so the conference remains accessible, and can attract as many interested practitioners as possible. Tickets are just $125 for the day if you get in on the Early Bird Deal.
Also, LASTconf doesn't typically draw big international speakers like the bigger conferences do (again to keep the costs low), but instead you get to hear from local and national speakers talking about their own experiences and challenges - often times in a much more relevant context.
LASTconf has been running for many years in Melbourne and Sydney, but this year is branching out to Canberra and Brisbane for the first time - both next month.
I went along to LASTconf in Sydney a few weeks ago and it was a fantastic conference. I met loads of great people and had some great conversations. LASTconf is a great networking event. There's been another LASTConference in Melbourne recently, too...and this video captured the day:
Compared to the bigger conferences (like Agile Australia), this mini-conference was MUCH more intimate, and much more practical and hands on. I participated in workshops and activities around Management 3.0 and Liberating Structures, went to a very practical talk about coaching in complex situations, a talk about how structure and culture are not often considered enough in Agile transformations, and was also involved in interesting discussions about the challenges of remote working and how synchronous communication is overrated...
If Sydney is anything to go by, then Canberra's (and Brisbane's) LASTconfs are sure to be a hit, too. You can get a sneak peek at some of the talks that have been proposed for Canberra here.
So...if you're interesting in Lean, Agile and Systems Thinking, think about attending. More information about the conference can be found here. AND...if you think you've got a talk in you about one of those themes, they're looking for submissions, too! #lastconf