There is just one month to go until the 2nd Asia-Pacific Society for Physical Activity (ASPA) conference which will be held 28-29 November 2022 and hosted at Deakin Downtown, Melbourne. We hope you are getting as excited as we are for the conference. Plenty of work has been going on behind the scenes to create a rewarding conference program and we are looking forward to seeing you soon.

You can now view and download the ASPA 2022 Conference program-at-a-glance. The two-day conference program features:

• Four world-leading keynote speakers
• Parallel sessions of oral presentations
• Dedicated sessions for each of the ASPA Special Interest Groups
• Workshops for the Early Career Network and Advocacy
• E-Poster sessions
• Networking opportunities during breaks and a welcome social event at the conclusion of Day 1.

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Keynote Speakers

We are delighted that Professor Heather McKay, Dr Isaac Warbrick, Adjunct Professor Trevor Shilton and Professor Cindy Sit will be presenting keynotes at ASPA 2022.

• Professor Heather McKay. Let’s take scale up out of the too hard basket: the Choose to Move story. There is good evidence to support the kinds of health promoting (physical) activities that generate health benefits at every age. The challenge becomes implementing and scaling up these innovations. In this presentation, Prof McKay aims to demystify the science and process of implementing and scaling up effective health promoting innovations using real world case studies.
• Dr Isaac Warbrick. Decolonising physical activity – gym-selfies, Pokemon, and the pursuit of Indigenous knowledge. Navigating different cultures can be difficult, and the culture of modern physical activity is no different, particularly for the marginalised groups most at risk of sedentary-related illnesses. While some seem to be motivated by ‘likes’ on a perfectly choreographed gym-selfie, or the way they look in their ‘active wear’ while grocery shopping, for many it is the pursuit of cultural knowledge and reconnection with ancestral identity that provides the vehicle for becoming physically active.
• Adjunct Professor Trevor Shilton. Achieving success in advocating for physical activity – from evidence to influence. Little else achieves a better return on investment than advocacy done well. This presentation outlines six imperatives for effective physical activity advocacy and five domains for action. These are illuminated through examples and case studies at National and Global scale.
• Professor Cindy Sit. Empowering children with disabilities to get active through physical activity. Physical inactivity among children with disabilities is a global public health issue. Physical activity can lessen secondary or chronic conditions commonly experienced by those with disabilities. However, more than 80% of children with disabilities do not meet the physical activity guidelines. The presentation will discuss the correlates of physical activity in children with disabilities. It will also discuss how school-based physical activity interventions can facilitate their active behaviour using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework to translate scientific evidence into practice.

Special Interest Group Sessions

The conference program includes a dedicated session for each ASPA Special Interest Group.

• Physical Literacy. This session will be chaired by Prof Lisa Barnett (Deakin), with presentations by Prof Raymond Sum (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) and Jackie Lauff (CEO of Sports Matters).
• School-Based Physical Activity. This session will include presentations by Dr Nick Riley (University of Newcastle), A/Prof Narelle Eather (University of Newcastle), and Dr Natalie Lander (Deakin).
• Physical Activity in Healthcare. This session will be chaired by A/Prof Nicole Freene & Dr Sjaan Gomersall, with presentations by Dr Hugh Seward and Glen Turner.
• Scaling-Up Physical Activity. This session will be chaired by Dr Harriet Koorts (Deakin University) and Dr Sarah Kennedy (Western Sydney University), with a presentation by Prof Penny Hawe (University of Sydney).

Workshops

• Effective physical activity advocacy for policy and implementation impact (Chair: Peter McCue). With the aim of supporting physical activity advocacy efforts across the Asia Pacific and building on the recent Three Transport Priorities – ASPA initiative, the advocacy workshop will focus on developing the advocacy skills of members to increase our collective impact. The workshop will equip ASPA members as change agents by providing a staged process to help translate advocacy concepts into action. A key objective will be to provide tools and case studies demonstrating that anyone can be a physical activity advocate.
• Early Career Network Scavenger Hunt. Join this exciting session to meet other early career professionals and students at the conference, extend your professional network, and have some fun together. We will begin with a scavenger hunt to foster connections with your peers. Then, we will share information about the ASPA Early Career Network, and you will have the opportunity to suggest networking, mentoring, and capacity-building activities you’d like to see next year.

Oral Presentations and E-Posters

We are thrilled to announce over 80 oral presentations and over 55 e-Posters will be presented across the two days. Themed sessions include:

• Children
• Adolescents and Youth
• Older Adults
• Families
• Schools
• Workplace
• Active Transport
• E-Health
• Health Outcomes
• Policy
• Free orals

Do you still need to register? Registration closes on 14 November 2022. 

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