Dear FACCI Members,

Our annual Bastille Day Business Breakfast is just under two weeks away. I am delighted to welcome Julia Zemiro as our guest speaker. A well-known entertainment personality (and born in France), Julia is arguably the most famous French-Australian celebrity. This highly-anticipated event will again take place at the prestigious Sofitel Hotel at Central Station on Friday July 11. By bringing high-profile personalities to Brisbane to get the celebrations started in style, our Bastille Day breakfast is the chamber's most significant investment in the Bastille Day weekend of celebrations for the French community.

I know that many of you see this function as a great opportunity to create and strengthen your business relationships in a relaxed yet sophisticated setting, not to mention the additional benefit of possibly winning fantastic prizes from our sponsors. Come celebrate Bastille Day with us, and If you haven’t already, book your tickets now by clicking HERE.

This month, we have the privilege of welcoming MWH Global as a new patron member to our Queensland chapter. MWH Global is a leading global engineering company specialised in the wet infrastructure sector, providing wastewater recycling and effective environmental water treatment. Keep an eye out for our Meet our Members section in the coming months to learn more about MWH Global.

In this month's issue, you can meet our member Fred Lazzerini, Managing Director of Ungerboeck Software International's Asia-Pacific division and follow the link to read his full interview on FACCI's website. As usual, you will also find in our Business newsroom our members' latest news as well as a summary of the months' events.

Finally please note that FACCI will have a stand at the Brisbane French Festival, which runs at Southbank Parklands on July 12th and 13th, so if you’re coming, please stop by. FACCI would also be happy to display a small selection of your promotional material if you do not have your own stand. If this is of interest, please contact Claire on 0431 691 333 or by email qld@facci.com.au.

Kind regards,

Brian Lorigan, President

UPCOMING EVENT

Friday 11 July 2014 @ the Sofitel Brisbane Central

The French-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Bastille Day Business Breakfast is the French business community’s most anticipated event of the year in Brisbane.

Held to celebrate France’s national day and to commemorate the storming of the Bastille on July 14th 1789, this event strives to bring the French and Australian business communities together and create and strengthen long-lasting business relationships.

This year, we will have the privilege of receiving members and guests at the prestigious Sofitel Hotel. Known for its French flair, stylish setting and relaxed ambience, this highly-regarded function attracts a diverse, active and professional audience.

We will also have the pleasure of welcoming Julia Zemiro as our keynote speaker. A television presenter, radio host, actress, singer and comedian, Julia is undoubtedly the most famous French-Australian celebrity. Born in France, Julia grew up in Australia and is an icon of Australian culture. Julia will obviously talk about the cross cultural differences between both cultures. This event is an opportunity for French people to come and discover more of Australian culture and an opportunity for Australian people to listen to one of Australia's most entertaining artist.

The Bastille Day Business Breakfast is THE opportunity for our members and friends of FACCI to invite clients and prospects so that they can impress people and transform business deals.

Thanks to our generous sponsors, you could win some amazing prizes from Absynthe Restaurant, Libertine Parfumerie, Nespresso, Traders Hotel, Single Vineyard Sellers and Sofitel Brisbane Central. 

Finally, special thanks to our main sponsors Air France, Sofitel and Single Vineyard Sellers for their continuous and invaluable support.

Don’t miss this wonderful event, celebrate Bastille Day with us! Book your ticket or table now.

PAST EVENTS

The French-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Queensland Chapter held its first ever Small Business Showcase on June 5, an event which featured presentations for a diverse line-up of 11 dynamic Small Business members, followed by a highly successful networking cocktail reception.

The members were given the opportunity to put their business in the spolight, which was literally the case for Unique France who hosted the event in their wonderful store in Fortitude Valley and Toowong French Patisserie who generously offered a very tasty and eye-catching croquembouche. Thanks to our sponsor, Single Vineyard Sellers' lovely wines also contributed to making this event a real success.

The Small Business Showcase attracted more than 50 guests who found much interest in the activities and latest projects of our members. To learn more about them, click on the following link: http://goo.gl/yufhjK.

Our third Tchin-Tchin event of the year gathered over 40 people at Cloudloud. Our Tchin-Tchin events are a great way to catch up with the Young Professionals and Individuals members of FACCI but also to meet the extended French-Australian Community.

Click here to see the photo album of the evening and keep an eye out for the invitation to our next Tchin-Tchin gathering early August.

MEET OUR MEMBERS

Ungerboeck Software International (USI) is a global leader in customisable Event & Venue Management software. Founded in 1985 by Mr. Dieter Ungerboeck in Missouri USA, the company, which initially exclusively targeted Convention and Exhibition centres, has now diversified its offer to the whole event industry including conference centres, performing arts centres, training centres, universities, corporate venues, not-for-profit organisations, catering companies, stadia and arenas, race courses, museums, amusements parks etc. USI has currently offices in Germany, France, Hong Kong, Mainland China and Australia, and has 40,000 users in more than 50 countries.

Read the full interview HERE.

PROMOTION

Brisbane to:

Paris from AUD1793*
Rome from AUD1865*
London from AUD2067 *

Book now until 09 July and travel until 15 December 2014.

For more information visit Air France's website or call on 1300 390 190.

*Conditions apply.

COMMUNITY NEWS

FACCI QLD is proud to support the Brisbane French Festival which will bring together French and French-inspired music, cuisine, culture, entertainment, products, services and information to celebrate Bastille Day la fête Nationale.

This year the event takes place on the 12th and 13th of July at Southbank and will showcase the traditional market, stage with day-long entertainment, kids corner and also new attractions such as cooking classes, la course des Garçons de Cafè (waiter's race), the Luxe Pavilion and the Wine & Spirits Pavilion.

The highlight of this year's festival, will be the Fashion Parade 'April in Paris' which will take place on a luxury boat cruising on the Brisbane River. Four designers will present a collection on the theme April in Paris, with four different styles: Fairy-tale, Feminity, Vintage and Sophistication.

Tickets for the fashion parade are available for booking here: http://brisbanefrenchfestival.com.au/entertainment/fashion-parade/.

The National Anthems of the Republic of France and Australia will be sung at the Bastille Day Business Breakfast by members of the Brisbane Chorale.

The Brisbane Chorale is a symphonic choir with over 100 voices with a reputation for outstanding choral performancse. The Chorale is an independent performing organisation but maintains a close relationship with the Queensland Conservatorium and Griffith University.

The Chorale performs regularly with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and collaborates frequently with other orchestras and choirs. Its extensive repertoire includes some world premieres, most recently the 2011 Brisbane Festival performance of Elena Kats-Chernin’s Symphonia Eluvium, a reflection on the Queensland floods. For over two decades the Chorale has performed in the Queensland Performing Arts Trust’s “Spirit of Christmas” concerts.

2013 included a tour to New Zealand to perform Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius with the Auckland Choral. The Chorale has just performed this magnificent work in Brisbane as the grand opening concert of the 2014 4MBS Festival of Classics.

2014 concerts include Brahm’s “German Requiem” at St Johns Cathedral and at Emmanuel College, Carrara followed by Rachmaninov’s “Vespers” at St Mary’s Church, Ipswich and St John’s Cathedral and in December, Handel’s “Messiah” for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra at QPAC in December.

For more information, visit: www.brisbanechorale.org.au.

AWARDS

Nominations are now open for the 2014 Lord Mayor's Business Awards and we encourage our members to get involved.

This year a new award category - Doing Business in Asia - will recognise local companies forging strong links with Asia. With an increasing number of companies using Brisbane as their Australian base and gateway to Asia, we are confident some of members and the wider community would be well-placed to do well in these awards and this category in particular.

The winners of each category will also have the chance to take home the night's top honour with the Optus Business Platinum Award celebrating outstanding business achievement.

To nominate yourself or another inspirational Brisbane business, or to view the Awards categories and past winners and finalists, visit www.lmba.com.au.

Nominate now!

Nominations close on Friday 18 July 2014.

In addition to the export-focus newly emphasises in the Lord Mayor's Awards, Trade & Investment Queensland (TIQ) invites you to apply for a 2014 Premier of Queensland's Export Award.

Celebrating 25 years of business excellence, the awards honour innovative talent and spirit of our top exporters by recognising the significant contribution made to our state and national economy.

Receiving an award is Queensland’s highest recognition of exporting achievement and is highly regarded among industry peers. All exporters, regardless of size or location, across all industries, are encouraged to vie for one of 12 industry category awards and three state category awards, plus the prestigious Premier of Queensland’s Exporter of the Year award.

This year, TIQ is proud to have the Export Council of Australia on board to manage the awards and bring its wealth of experience and export know-how to the program.

By sharing your story you could be congratulated for the important role your company plays in strengthening Queensland’s economy through export.

Apply now!

Applications closes on Wednesday 30 July 2014.