TWO Perth association executives have shared a $10,000 scholarship offered by the Perth Convention Bureau to further their professional development.
Law Society of WA executive director Alison Gaines and International Humanitarian Law with the Australian Red Cross administrator Harpal Ahluwalia were announced as co-winners at a recent presentation ceremony at the Claremont Conference Centre.
Perth Convention Bureau panel chairman Jill Henry said, following shortlisting from a field of 18 applicants, the two applications could not be separated.
“So it was decided to share the $10,000 scholarship between them,” she said.
Ms Gaines will use the funds to attend the International Bar Association Conference, in Boston, in June. During her trip, she will investigate the possibility of Perth hosting a specialist conference of the International Bar Association.
Mr Ahluwalia plans to use the funds to attend the 27th International Conference of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland, in November. He is pursuing the possibility of Perth hosting the society’s International Conference in 2003.
Ms Henry said the scholarship complements an existing Bureau scheme — the Conventions Assistance Package — which aids local associations in bidding for national and international conventions.
The scheme was launched in 1991 and since then, the Bureau has given more than $500,000 to associations to help bring conventions to Perth.
“This business has injected some $160 million into the state’s economy in delegate generated spending,” Ms Henry said.
