A US-headquartered paediatric health symposium has chosen Brisbane as its first-ever Asia Pacific host city, with 500 global experts to meet in March 2021.

The successful bid for the AG Bell Global Listening and Spoken Language Symposium was led by economic development board Brisbane Marketing in partnership with Hear and Say, a local non-for-profit providing early intervention services for children with hearing loss.  Hear and Say’s Clinical Director, Emma Rushbrooke, was one of the first recipients of the Lord Mayor’s Convention Trailblazer Grant. She used the grant to attend the symposium in 2018 and worked with Brisbane Marketing to advocate for Brisbane as a future host city.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the three-day symposium would highlight Brisbane and Australia’s world-leading expertise in paediatric hearing and healthcare research while generating over $890,000 for the local economy.