appointment of melbourne kd organiser and overview of kd

APPOINTMENT OF MELBOURNE KD ORGANISER
AND OVERVIEW OF KD ORGANISING PROCESS
MELBURNAS LATVIEŠU ORGANIZĀCIJU APVIENĪBA
and 56th KD Melbourne, December 2016
Process for the appointment of the KD organiser
The 56th KD will be held in Melbourne from 26-31 December 2016. At KD in Sydney in
December 2014, the KD flag will be handed over to the organiser of Mebourne KD. It is
expected that the organiser of Melbourne KD will be appointed by MLOA at a General
Meeting held in June 2014, and later confirmed by LAAJ KF.
Melburnas Latviešu organizāciju apvienība (MLOA)
MLOA is an umbrella organisation of Latvian organisations in Melbourne. The current
member organisations are:

Koris „Daina”

Daugavas Vanagu Melburnas nodaļa

Korporāciju kopa Melburnā

Studenšu korporāciju kopa Melburnā

Latviešu 1. Ev. Lut. Draudze/Svētā Krusta draudze

Latviešu izglītības veicināšanas sabiedrība „Dzintari”

Latviešu kredītkooperatīvs Austrālijā

Latviešu savstarpējās palīdzības biedrība

Makšķernieku klubs „Āķis”

Melburnas Latviešu biedrība

Melburnas Latviešu biedrības „Daugavas skola”

Melburnas Latviešu nama kooperatīvs

Melburnas Latviešu vidusskola

Rīgas 1. gaidu vienība

Rīgas 102. skautu vienība

Slēpotāju kooperatīvs „Zilās acis”

Tautas deju kopa „Ritenītis”

Austrālijas Latviešu teātris

Latviešu Jaunatnes apvienība Austrālijā, Melburnas nodaļa

Melburnas latviešu sports
Each organisation, which is a financial member of MLOA at the time of the General
Meeting, will have one vote in the selection of the KD organiser. It is anticipated that MLOA
will, by advertisement in the local Latvian newspapers, call for expressions of interest for
the position in April 2014 and will give notice of the General Meeting to all member
organisations in May 2014.
At the General Meeting, the candidate, or each candidate, would be asked to make a short
presentation. At that stage, the prospective organisers would be asked to outline their
„vision” for the festival in general terms, and to present their credentials which would
enable them to run a Festival which is successful, both culturally and financially.
Responsibility of the KD organiser to MLOA and LAAJ
Following appointment as the KD organiser by MLOA, the appointment will be formally
confirmed by Latviešu Apvienība Austrālijā un Jaunzēlandē (LAAJ). The LAAJ executive is
presently in Adelaide but will be based in Melbourne for 3 years from January 2015.
The KD organiser will be required to submit a budget to LAAJ by November 2015. Upon
approval of the budget, LAAJ Kultūras fonds (LAAJ KF) will undertake to underwrite the
Festival and will provide a substantial financial advance, to be repaid after the Festival.
LAAJ KF may require regular updates of the budget and a final accounting after the
Festival.
A KD Audit committee of 3 persons, appointed by MLOA, may participate in all KD
committee meetings without voting rights and report to MLOA. The MLOA committee may
also require regular reporting (perhaps every 6 months) to ensure that planning for the
Festival is progressing satisfactorily.
LAAJ KF guidelines for the festival
The LAAJ constitution lays down only limited „instructions” for the festival (attached).
Festival objectives
Primarily, KD provides a regular opportunity for the Australian Latvian community to come
together to celebrate the language and culture. KD organisers may set further objectives,
such as:

to further develop choir singing in Australia, particularly across all generations;

to promote the use of Melbourne’s Latvian House as the Festival „hub”;

to encourage participation at Festival events by all persons with a Latvian heritage,
whether or not they are active in their local Latvian communities, and by nonLatvians.
Early tasks of the KD organiser
After appointment, there are a number of tasks which the KD organiser will need to
address:

finalise the goals and objectives of the festival;

determine a structure for the organising committee, and to choose its members;

prepare a draft program of events and a calendar outline for the festival week;

book outside venues for events that may not be able to be accommodated by
Latvian House, eg usually for the Choir Concert, Folkdancing and New Year’s Eve
Ball;

determine the type of guest performers who might be invited to the festival from
Latvia, other countries or from interstate; and

prepare a budget.
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Structure of the KD organising committee
In the past, many KD have been run with a broader committee which includes the
organisers of each event and activity and a smaller executive consisting of the organiser,
vice, secretary, treasurer, ticketing, publicity and, sometimes, youth representative. Other
positions of responsibility have included website maintenance, souvenirs, festival
programme and flowers.
It is likely that the executive would meet, perhaps monthly, and the broader committee less
regularly. It is important that there are proper reporting processes in place between event
and activity organisers and the executive. The event and activity organisers would also be
responsible for the financial aspects of their project, including preparation of a budget.
Programme of events
At most KD the following activities have been included:

Church service

Opening ceremony and concert

Danču vakars

Art and craft exhibitions

Theatre

Raibais

Folk dancing

Choir concert and after singing and closing ceremony

Youth concert

Family day/market/open air café

Lecture

New Years Eve ball.
In addition, although not the responsibility of KD, other activities held during the festival
week include sporting events and meetings of organisations including LAAJ, fraternities
and sororities, teachers and LJAA.
The festival programme should ensure, as far as possible, that events, and particularly
rehearsal times, are scheduled so that participants are able to take part in as many of the
events as they wish. The events with most participant overlap tend to be folk dancing, the
choir concert and sporting activities.
Venues
It is anticipated that maximum use would be made of Latvian House both during the day
and in the evening. MLNK usually provides the premises for an “all in cost” for the week,
which includes all rehearsals, performances, and clean up, etc. The cafe is usually opened
by the Ladies Auxiliary, whenever required.
Outside venues may be required for a number of events. In the past these have included:

Folk dancing (National Theatre; St Kilda)

Choir concert (Williamstown Town Hall; St Kilda Town Hall)

Opening (Camberwell Civic Centre, St Michael’s Church, Collins St)

Art exhibition (Victorian Artists’ Society, East Melb; Bright Space, St Kilda.)
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
Church service (Holy Cross, Surrey Hills, Holy Trinity, St Kilda)

New Years Eve ball (various function centres).
New Years Eve, public holidays, weekends and evening or night-time events attract
additional costs and loadings. These factors may influence the final calendar of events.
Early bookings are essential for outside venues and will usually require the payment of a
deposit. Some venues, for example those under the control of the local municipality, the
City of Port Phillip, may offer a subsidy for local organisations, for example for the use of St
Kilda Town Hall.
Logo
The KD logo is an important aspect of any KD. All aspects of KD are “branded” by the logo.
Newspaper articles are readily identifiable by the logo and it forms part of the décor at all
KD events. The logo is usually chosen after a public competition, the winner being chosen
by the KD committee and a prize offered. This process should be completed at least 15
months before the festival.
Insurance
Festival insurance is usually arranged as an “add on” to the Latvian House insurance. This
should be arranged through MLNK and may require the payment of an additional premium.
Latvian guests
The Festival usually features guests from Latvia and occasionally from other countries.
Most often a choir or other music ensemble will be invited. This is usually done with
individuals or small ensembles on the basis that the guests’ airfares and other travel
expenses are paid, together with a small honorarium. Choirs and larger ensembles usually
pay their own travelling costs. Most guests are billeted with local Latvians and are offered
complimentary tickets to all Festival events (with the exception, perhaps, of the New Years
Eve ball).
Usually the KD organiser will liaise with the 3x3 and VV organisers to see whether there
can be consensus regarding the Latvian guests and a sharing of the costs.
The KD committee must accept responsibility for ensuring the guests obtain tourist visas to
visit Australia and appropriate travel insurance.
Financial budget
The budgets should be a realistic (leaning towards conservative) estimate of all income
and expenditure, aiming for a surplus. The income of the festival is principally from ticket
sales, but may also include: prior fundraising events; government or local government
grants; donations by Latvian organisations; private festival sponsors; sale of food and drink
at events; sale of programmes and souvenirs; and advertising in the festival programme
and on the website.
The income from ticket sales depends on the cost of tickets and the number of persons
attending events. Usually ticket prices will be discounted for senior citizens, children and
students. The number of attendees depends on the size of the venue and the popularity of
the event, with the most popular event usually being the folk dancing performance..
Each event organiser is expected to prepare a budget for their activity. Many of the
expenses will be shared across the board, for example the cost of advertising, website,
souvenir and festival programme production and ticket printing are some examples of items
that will require apportionment of the estimated cost of these items across most, if not all
events. The cost of Latvian guests would be apportioned according to their level of
participation in the various events.
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Accounting spreadsheets from past KD provide a template listing the various areas of
income and expenditure and offer the facility of varying the data such as audience numbers
and ticket prices, which is a useful feature when constructing the budget.
It would be expected, from past experience, that some activities such as folk dancing,
would always provide a surplus. Other events, including the opening and choir concert, will
have a difficulty in breaking even because of the apportionment of expenditure on Latvian
guests. Social events, particularly the New Years Eve ball should never run at a loss so as
to require a subsidy from the cultural activities.
Publicity
Attracting audiences is a critical factor in the success of the festival. This will depend on the
programme offered and the way it is presented to potential audiences.
Attendees will include:

regular attendees at Latvian events in Melbourne;

recent Latvian émigrés;

interstate Latvians, and friends of Latvians, including participants;

local Latvians who have rarely or never had contact with the local Latvian
community or have lost contact over the years;

youth; and

the broader non-Latvian community.
Active local and interstate Latvians can be targeted through:

the local Latvian newspapers and radio stations;

the Festival website;

the Festival Facebook page and other social media; and

direct distribution by email of information updates.
Social media is particularly important in attracting the attendance of youth generally, and
specifically those who are not active in the community.
A website can be used for ticketing as well as general publicity. The website from the last
Melbourne KD should be available to be developed for the 2016 KD.
An email database is not presently available for use by the KD committee, although the
preparation of a database has been attempted in the past. Many Latvian organisations
have their own databases. It may be possible, without infringing privacy considerations, to
request those organisations to send their subscribers an email requesting that they agree
to subscribe to regular emailed Festival updates.
Festival programme
Production of the festival programme is a major undertaking and the advertising in the
programme is an important revenue source. In recent years there have been attempts to
make the programme more accessible by including English language text. The programme
requires information and photographs from many sources, including the Offices of the
Latvian President and Minister for Culture.
There is a need for persons skilled at translating between English and Latvian and editing
in both languages. The programme copy must be prepared in sufficient time before KD
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starts to allow for printing and binding of the programme, bearing in mind the pre-Christmas
shutdown of most printing companies.
Volunteers
During the festival there is a need for many volunteer tasks including:

ticket and programme selling;

ushering;

information booth;

technical, lighting, sound support;

furniture moving; and

manning stalls and outdoor café.
The committee should include a volunteers’ coordinator who, by direct contact in the
months before the Festival, would prepare a volunteers database recording the offers
received, and who liaises with the event organisers to ensure that their specific
requirements are met.
Archiving KD
At recent festivals, DVDs have been prepared of the main events. The DVDs are available
to libraries and archives in Australia and in Latvia. Copies are also available for sale.
Articles in the Latvian press also provide a valuable record of the festival. KD event
organisers may need to arrange specific persons to write up events to ensure that all
events are recorded.
Copies of all KD programmes, Latvian newspapers and DVD recordings of events from
past festivals are available from the library at Latvian House. Previous festival programmes
provide invaluable information about each festival including a listing of all-past organisers,
the organising committees and information about the events and participants. They provide
a wealth of information to assist any KD organiser.
Final accounting
After the festival, there must by a final accounting to LAAJ. Within 3 months of the
conclusion of the festival, the festival and audit committees must report to a meeting of
MLOA. 3% of all ticket income from events must be forwarded to LAAJ KF. The advance
must be repaid and any surplus sent to LAAJ KF. LAAJ KF will meet any shortfall, although
that would not be a desirable outcome. According to the LAAJ KD organising instruction
document, the decision as to the disbursement of any surplus is done by LAAJ KF in
conjunction with the LAAJ executive and the KD committee, although in practice, any
surplus forms part of the general monies held by the KF.
The KD committee ceases its duties once the LAAJ executive and KF have confirmed all
documentation.
Anita Andersone
Organiser, AL53KD 2010.
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