The Australian Dental Association has announced that the 36th Australian Dental Congress will return to the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) in March 2015.

Brisbane has previously hosted the biggest Australian Dental Congress in history when the 2011 event attracted a record 4,000 delegates.

Australian Dental Association Federal Sales and Events Manager, Oscar van Elten said Brisbane was a very popular destination with great appeal to delegates.

"Accessibility of the destination and location and suitability of the venue were major influencing factors. Feedback from delegates attending the 2011 event was overwhelmingly positive; it was almost universally described as a fabulous Congress," he said.

"The venue together with one of Australia's leading PCOs Ozaccom Plus, worked with us in making it a great success and when you have people working with you to achieve that success, it makes all the difference," he said.

Mr van Elten said the outstanding success of the 2011 event was the result of a number of reasons but cited a strong marketing campaign with extensive use of social media, an innovative Congress program and a very substantial exhibition component among the highlights. He said the Australian Dental Congress was excited to be returning to Brisbane and BCEC in 2015 from March 25 - 29. 

BCEC Convention Advocate, Associate Professor David Thomson, from the UQ School of Dentistry and Chairman of the local organising committee for the 2015 Congress, hopes to continue the tradition to build on the success of the 2011 congress. "We are hoping for a repeat of those overwhelming numbers of attendees and their obvious enthusiasm. 

"I believe success is a confluence of destination appeal, venue attributes and sharing of scientific knowledge."

Professor Thomson said one of the most significant benefits of hosting the event in Brisbane was its proximity to leading dentistry schools.

"The Congress offers unique accessibility to the latest scientific information and expertise of prominent international speakers, for the benefit of students from the highly regarded UQ School of Dentistry and Griffith University School of Dentistry and Oral Health."

He said Brisbane is particularly attractive to international speakers who have a history of taking advantage of pre and post touring options in Brisbane and Queensland.

Professor Thomson said one of the major attractions of the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre was the Great Hall Auditorium for plenary sessions, which is located directly adjacent to the main exhibition area. "This is desirable both for attending delegates and the industry trade representatives participating in the Dental Exhibition," he said.

BCEC General Manager, Bob O'Keeffe said he welcomed the return of the Australian Dental Congress to Brisbane. "As the economic and scientific hub of Queensland, Brisbane is the ideal location for a Congress of this stature. This event adds further to the growing number of scientific and medical conferences choosing Brisbane and the BCEC for their events."


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Gail Sawyer
Gails@bcec.com.au
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