AFFHO Congress

This blog post comes to you from the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisation's (AFFHO) Congress being held this week in Auckland, New Zealand. The opening ceremonies kicked off yesterday evening at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Launching this kickoff was a traditional Maori powhiri, and I must say that I was very impressed.
Once the powhiri finished, various dignitaries made several welcoming comments. All of these events took place in the ultra-modern arena of Auckland War Memorial Museum, an impressive building built on a high hill with magnificent views in all directions. Wine, beer, soft drinks, and hors d'oeuvres were served all evening. I must admit I was saddened when it was time to board the buses and return to our dormitories.
Oh yes, the dormitories. The Australasian Federation of Family History Organisation's 2009 Congress is happening at King's College in Otahuhu, a suburb of Auckland. This is a private boys' school for young men of 13 to 18 years of age. It is a boarding school, and attendees at the Congress had the opportunity to stay in the dormitories. (It is summer in New Zealand, and all the young men apparently have gone home for the season.)
The use of a boarding school's campus has turned out to be an excellent attraction for attendees from out of town. We have comfortable accommodations within a couple hundred yards of all the lecture halls and the dining room, all available at modest prices. I do think my room has the best bed that I have slept in for a long time, however. I slept soundly.
Following last night's opening ceremony are four days of lectures, workshops, meals, and other offerings. The lectures started this morning with a presentation on "Resources, Research, Results in the 21st Century," The rest of the days are full of four to five simultaneous offerings all day long. The presenters are from all over New Zealand and Australia, with others from the U.S., Canada, England, Ireland, and Poland.
I am writing these words in late afternoon of the first full day. If you have an interest in this year's conference, you might be interested in a Roots Television videotape that was recorded with Dick eastman & Jan Gow, one of the organizers of the Congress. That video was recorded nearly and a half ago, but the predictions that Jan made at the time are now coming true. That video is as relevant today as it was on the day we recorded it. You can see the Roots Television video at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/09/video-interview.html.
Dinner this evening will be in the King's College Dining Hall, to be followed by speed genealogy, a humorous presentation by Dan Poffenberger from Salt Lake City about unusual names and facts he has found in the past twenty years, a presentation by Stephen Young (also from Salt Lake City) about the 1881 British census, movies from the New Zealand Film Archive about the different immigrant groups who settled in New Zealand, and an opportunity to explore some of the genealogy "for pay" sites.