We’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the MDDA Family Retreat for 2021. While we know this is disappointing, we hope you can understand our obligations and responsibilities that we must consider to help keep all attendees, presenters, volunteers and staff safe during the pandemic. We’ve also considered the potential impact and effect that a snap state border closure and the resulting imposed restrictions may have on all those attending. We very much recognise and reassure you that nothing will ever replace our ‘in person’ events, but we just need to ensure that we feel comfortable that any health or financial risks are at a minimum and allow enough time for everyone to be involved to ensure a successful event.  It is our hope that in 2022 ALL our members will have the ability to gather together and we will be able once again to provide a complete in-person Retreat program. We’re still planning to hold the Retreat at the beautiful Sanctuary Cove QLD 2022 with dates to be confirmed later in the year when there is more certainty (but we are hoping to place a hold on the weekend of Oct 7-9, 2022 and lock this in a little closer).
The good news is that we are planning a series of virtual events to keep us connected and informed. We’ll host an interactive online program including panel discussions, specific IEM topics, local and international guest speakers and other exciting sessions. These online events will be run similar to our successful @Home Retreat held in October last year. Whilst we could never replace an in-person event, by using innovative technology we can create a unique and invaluable experience where we can connect and provide a peer supportive event to the wider IEM community. More information and a program of the online events will follow in the coming months.
We’ll be processing refunds for those who have paid their registrations or a deposit to the 2021 Retreat. If you have any questions or concerns, please email [email protected] or 03 9723 0600.
Thank you again for your understanding during these extraordinary times.