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Bryce Wakefield
Team Leader
Dr Bryce Wakefield is the National Deputy Director of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. He has lived, worked and researched in the United States, Japan, Europe and New Zealand. From 2012 to 2018, he was a tenured lecturer of area studies and International Relations at Leiden University in the Netherlands. From 2008 to 2012 Bryce was the associate responsible for Northeast Asian programs at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, where he organised over 60 events, including policy briefings in the U.S. Congress on political issues in Australia, Taiwan, North and South Korea and Japan.
He is regularly quoted in the media, and his opinions have appeared in such outlets as: BBC News; Bloomberg.com; Business Week; C-SPAN; Financial Times; International Business Times; NHK (Japanese Broadcasting Corporation); BS News; Radio New Zealand; Der Spiegel; Die Tageszeitung; TVN Poland); Voice of America; Voice of Russia; de Volkskrant; and Washington Times. Bryce has a PhD from the University of Auckland and a master’s in international public policy from Osaka University.
Amber Carvan
Media and Communication Expert
Amber Carvan is a strategic communications specialist with two decades of experience, both in Australia and internationally, across the international development, environment and public health sectors..
Prior to joining the EU-Australia Leadership Forum, she worked across 15 countries on the European Union funded Pacific Hazardous Waste Management Project known as PacWaste. Her international project portfolio also includes the Pacific Islands Greenhouse Gas Abatement and Renewable Energy Project (PIGGAREP) and the Pacific POPs Release Reduction Project.
Amber has a strong track record in coordinating media activities for international events. In 2015 she was part of the media contingent for the Third United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States, and in 2016 she managed media activities for the inaugural Clean Pacific Roundtable. In 2017 she worked closely with Pacific island delegations to the Conference of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions to coordinate country interventions and press activities. Amber was Chief Rapporteur for the 13th Noumea Convention, 8th Waigani Convention and the 26th and 27th SPREP Meetings of Officials.
Michael Zettinig
Event Manager
Holding a PhD in Political Science, Michael Zettinig has the right professional experience, background and industry contacts to manage and oversee the event activities of the project. In particular, his eleven years of professional event management experience both in Europe (Germany) and Australia as well as his proven track record in successfully organising multi-day high-level conferences with business and political audiences predestine him for this important role. He has recent experience organising relevant activities both in Australia and in Europe. Examples of this include major conferences in Melbourne and complex discussion events in Berlin.
However, organising successful events works only with a strong team approach. Michael has more than five years’ experience in managing event teams, from the early planning stages of large events through the execution and up to the post-event activities. In collaboration with the other experts, he is also utilises including social media as a crucial communication tool to successfully manage the large team and many delegates involved in the project’s Senior Leaders Fora, Emerging Leaders Fora and Sectoral Policy Workshops. He also possesses a deep understanding and relevant contact network in the Europe-Australia political and business relationship, enabling him to tailor the event management work to the audience’s requirements. As Director of Policy at the German-Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, he also contributes a deep understanding of the EU-Australia economic relationship and current key policy developments
