Keynote presentation Friday 15 May, 11.00 am

Sam Bloom is a four-time winner of the World Para Surfing Championship, bestselling author and inspiration behind the Australian box-office hit and global Netflix sensation Penguin Bloom, starring and produced by two-time Oscar nominee Naomi Watts.

In 2013, while holidaying in Thailand with her husband and three young sons, Sam unknowingly leant on a rotten balcony railing, falling through it and plunging six metres onto the concrete below. Sam's injuries were horrific. The near-fatal accident shattered her spine, ruptured her lungs and caused severe bleeding on the brain.

Not only was Sam physically broken and facing the daunting reality of never walking again, but her soul and spirit were crushed. She was not the active, adventurous mother she once was and was convinced if she could not have her old life back, her new one was not worth living.

A serendipitous encounter with a frail and injured magpie chick, her sons dubbed Penguin, was to transform her attitude, change the course of her recovery and save her family.

Sam and Penguin's remarkable bond and extraordinary story of parallel recovery was sensitively captured through the lens by Sam's husband, acclaimed photographer Cameron Bloom. The images formed the basis for the international bestselling book Penguin Bloom, a collaboration with New York Times bestselling author Bradley Trevor Greive.

Such is the sheer beauty and power of their story that it inspired a major film of the same name, starring Naomi Watts and Andrew Lincoln. The movie, released in January 2021, became an immediate hit, claiming #1 at the Australian box office and trending on Netflix in North America and across Europe.

Sam's is a story for the times, with profound messages for us all – of the power of love and family, and of our innate ability to find determination and courage in the face of adversity.

Keynote presentation Saturday 16 May, 11.00 am

Sophie Scott is a multi-award-winning medical journalist, a professional speaker and an educator with expertise in mental health.

She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Notre Dame University Medical School lecturing in science communication.

Sophie Scott was the national medical reporter for the ABC until early 2023. Sophie's reports appeared on ABC TV news, radio and online, as well as the 7.30 Report and the ABC News Channel. She had a special interest in patient safety and groundbreaking medical research which improved the lives of Australians.

Sophie has written two books Live a Longer Life (ABC Books) and Roadtesting Happiness (Harper Collins) and won major awards for her journalism.

She is an advisory board member of the Australian National Mental Health Prize and sits on the advisory board on stigma at the National Mental Health Commission and the University of Melbourne's Contemplative Studies Centre. She is an ambassador for Bowel Cancer Australia, Pain Australia and is a patient reviewer for the British Medical Journal.

Sophie is a highly sought-after speaker on topics such as preventing burnout, managing mental wellbeing and communicating with impact to help people maximise their potential and productivity to thrive at work and at home.