What’s On?

We all know what our voice sounds like but what does it look like? How can the science of our voice be turned into art? Join us at the Print Your Voice workshop where your voice will be turned into personalized jewellery. Step into a special room to explore the soundwaves of your voice and create an individualized recording, saying whatever you like. Each visitor will then turn a blank silver pendant (饰坠) into a unique piece of art with the soundwaves of your recording.Suitable for ages 15+.

Discover Western Sydney University’s Maker Space and work through a 3D project in this hands-on workshop. See how 3D printing works and create your future just with the technology! Suitable for ages 16 and over.

Join scientist Subha Nasir Ahmad in a chat about some of the science of baking and see a cake-decorating show using techniques drawn from science. Pick up tips and tricks to improve your baking game as you observe an expert in action make a Sunny Bakehouse Cake.Suitable for ages 16+.

Having given good responses to all questions, Thomas, with a perfect resume, failed his job interview last week. Christine, the manager responsible for the interview, showed an actual preference for Thomas but decided to offer the job to her second choice, adding that the fact that he never looked her in the eye said “untrustworthy”.

“It was not until I attended a diversity workshop that I realized the person we passed over   was the perfect person.” Christine admitted later. “What I didn’t known at that time was that the candidate’s odd behavior was simply a cultural misunderstanding. He was an Asian-American raised in a family where respect for those in authority was shown by turning away your eyes. I   was just thrown off by the lack of eye contact, not realizing it was cultural,” Christine says.

As the world becomes smaller and our workplaces become more diverse, it is increasingly essential to expand our understanding of others and to reexamine some of our false assumptions. Mindsets helps organizations and individuals see their own blind spots.

Unexpected advantage

At a time when hiring qualified people is becoming more difficult, employers who can have no personal biases have an obvious advantage. A real estate agent illustrates the positive influence of Mindsets—“Coached by Mindsets for two weeks, I acquired how to own a diversified workforce—I employed people from different cultures and skill sets. When the real estate market began to change, it was because we had a diverse agent pool that we were able to stay in the real estate market much longer than others in the same profession.”

Strategic power

“An open mind about diversity not only improves organizations from inside, it is profitable as well.” Such comment is from a customer service representative, who shows how an inclusive attitude can improve sales. It wasn’t until her boss received Mindsets’ training that she was able to understand how important inclusiveness was to customer service. One of the best things my company has done is to contract with a language service that offers translations over the phone. As a result, our customer base has increased.”

Gender unawareness

Gorden is an account executive who attended one of the workshops. “Through some of the lessons, I discovered my personal bias.” he recalls. “I had a management position open in my department; and the two finalists were a man and a woman. Had I not attended this workshop, I would have automatically assumed the man was the best candidate because the position required quite a bit of extensive travel. My assumption would have been that even though both candidates were great and could have been successful in the position, I assumed the woman would have wanted to be home with her children and not travel. Thanks to the workshop, I have learnt to make decisions based on fairness.”

The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) celebrates the art of singing through a series of competitions that are designed to showcase the talented singers or performers who are soon to be rising stars in the profession.

NATSAA Competition

The competition takes place every other year and is open only to NATS members and students of NATS members. Preliminary competitions (初赛) are held at the regional level, with one winner coming out from 14 NATS regions.

Entry fee: $75

Prizes: The winner is awarded more than $13,000; the runner-up (亚军) is awarded more than S6,000.

Deadline to apply: September 13th, 2021

National Music Theater Competition

It is seeking the best music theater soloists (独奏家), those who just need that one break to move their careers forward. Applicants must be between ages 20-28 before the application deadline.

Entry fee: $90 (or a half for students of NATS members)

Prizes: The winner is awarded $5,000; second prize is $2,500; third prize is $1,000.

Deadline to apply: September 15th, 2021

National Student Auditions

The long-standing tradition of regional NATS Student Auditions now provides the top performers from each region with the opportunity to compete with other top artists from the continent.

Entry fee: $75 per category

Prizes: Prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place will be $35,000.

Deadline to apply: April 10th, 2021

Art Song Composition

The competition is open to any composer whose submitted work meets the official requirements and who pays the competition entry fee.

Entry fee: Each entry is $30 for professionals; $15 for full-time students

Prizes: The winner is awarded $2,000; the runner-up is awarded $1,000.

Deadline to apply: December 1st, 2021