Election Nominations

Last updated: 28th September, 2024, 7:30pm AEST

This page will contain those who are nominating themselves for positions at our 2024 Annual General Meeting. This list does not include those who may nominate themselves for positions from the floor on the day of the AGM. The committee will be updating this page as new nominations are made available to them.

President

Lachlan Woods - Australian Capital Territory

Outline the reasons why you wish to be part of the committee of OGAE Australia.

Having served as an Ordinary Committee Member from December 2020 to January 2022, and as President since January 2022 onwards, it has been an absolute pleasure being part of the OGAE Australia committee, and seek, with members’ support, to continue to serve over the next two years as President (or Vice-President or an Ordinary Committee Member).

OGAE Australia has seen some fairly significant achievements over the previous two years, including increasing its membership base to nearly 1,200 members across Australia and elsewhere, hosting the OGAE Song Contest in 2022, bringing an international Eurovision artist to Australia to our flagship preview parties for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic caused Australia’s external borders to close. Of course, this has been through both the passion of our members supporting these initiatives, as well as the dedication of our various committee members over the years since 2022.

As we head into our 10th year of establishment in 2025, I seek to be part of a committee that continues to work hard to promote the values of Eurovision in Australia and beyond, reflects on our achievements in the past 10 years, as well as looking to our future and seeing where we can grow and solidify our position as the pre-eminent fan club for Eurovision fans in Australia.

What are the skills and attributes you have that you believe are valuable to the position(s) you are applying for?

By day, I am a solicitor for a federal government department, specialising in technology, data and privacy law. I seek to utilise this existing knowledge to support reviewing existing policies and procedures of OGAE Australia, especially ensuring good practice in how we manage personal information we hold. This work has already begun with the commissioning of a new membership management platform, and would be bolstered with the preparation of a Privacy Policy that complies with Australian and European privacy laws.

I have previously worked in marketing and governance roles at a university in Sydney, which required strong communication skills and a keen eye for detail. This is also reflected in my approach as President of OGAE Australia to ensure key risks are identified earlier so they can be managed accordingly. Further, my prior experience in political campaigns and media engagement during the 2017 Australian marriage law postal survey is important in being able to promote Eurovision with media and related stakeholders, as seen through my appearances on BBC and ABC, plus interviews with The Guardian and Nine Entertainment/Fairfax newspapers.

If you are re-nominating from the current or past committee, how have you made your mark and been of benefit to OGAE Australia?

As President of OGAE Australia since January 2022, I have worked hard to bolster relationships between OGAE Australia and relevant stakeholders in Australia and elsewhere, including fellow OGAE clubs, OGAE International, SBS and Blink TV, participating artists, embassies and consulates of participating countries and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

These relationships have historically experienced some strain, and has been a key priority of mine as President to rebuild and reconnect. Through seeing these relationships being rebuilt over the past two years, members are now able to reap the rewards through better experiences at OGAE Australia hosted or supported events, clearer information on matters relating to Eurovision, as well as possible growth of membership across Australia.

I have endeavoured to focus on conciliation and supporting a wide variety of perspectives on actions taken by the committee, and will seek to continue to support an open, honest and collaborative committee of OGAE Australia over the coming term. 

Vice-President

Lachlan Woods (if not elected President, in accordance with Rule 51(3))

Ordinary Committee Member (3 positions)

Lachlan Woods (if not elected Vice-President, in accordance with Rule 51(3))