Technical Communicators

Come and learn about the International Language, Esperanto, from experienced speakers who have travelled the world, attended international conferences, and made friends with people from many different countries. Esperanto is simple to learn, regular, and a very powerful tool for international communication. Our Monday meetups are tailored to whoever shows up on the night, so feel free to drop in, no matter what your level (curious/interested/beginner/conversational/expert). We can offer one-on-one lessons or a range of group activities, conversation, and games. We meet at Enderby Esperanto Centre, suite 304, 343 Little Collins Street. Your first visit is free, and meetups are free for members, however if neither of these apply we ask for $5 to help cover venue costs. If you want to join our Discord server for Esperantists in Victoria, please visit [https://discord.gg/6cgKjQhkWa](https://discord.gg/6cgKjQhkWa "https://discord.gg/6cgKjQhkWa")

**Toorak Toastmasters** was established via charter in Toorak, Victoria on May 22, 2015. We meet on the **2nd & 4th** Monday of each month. 6.50 pm for a 7.00 pm start. Please be on time for the meeting. Our meetings are held at Grattan Gardens Community Centre (GGCC), 40 Grattan St, Prahran. The atmosphere is informal allowing you to work on developing your speaking skills in a non-threatening environment. **What you will have a taste of:** * **Prepared Speeches**: Deliver speeches on topics you’re passionate about (Members only) * **Impromptu Speaking**: Practice thinking on your feet with quick, fun impromptu speaking for 1 - 2min. * **Constructive Feedback**: Receive valuable tips to help you improve, delivered in a positive, encouraging way. * **Leadership Roles**: Take turns leading the meeting, which helps you refine your organizational and leadership abilities. Come as a guest and get a feel of Toastmasters and our club TODAY! This is a safe and respectful space. We have a code of conduct, and harassment or inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated. We are looking forward to seeing you soon!

A mix of dance classes, connections & laughter! We love offering a diverse range of moves to keep things fresh and exciting, and it’s always amazing to see our dance community connecting on and off the dance floor. It’s all about coming together, learning, and having fun! Brighton Beach Bowls Club 2B South Rd Brighton 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm Foundation, Beginner & Intermediate levels $25 CASH or PAYID

We invite you to join us for face-face English lessons at Upper Intermediate level each Monday and Wednesday evening, starting Wed 8th April. **Where:** Level 7, 628 Bourke Street, Melbourne CBD **Time:** 5:15pm - 7:30pm. Please come on time, as the doors are shut at 5:30pm. **What to expect:** You will be greeted by friendly tutors and trainee teachers. We are training English teachers and they work hard to prepare lessons for you. You will meet other speakers of other languages and engage in activities, and lots of practice speaking English.

A relaxed Monday evening exploring the universe from the heart of Melbourne. We’ll begin with an **optional dinner** in South Melbourne, then head to the historic [Melbourne Observatory](https://maps.app.goo.gl/g4R1JhhnDR8ZFEUEA) precinct inside the Royal Botanic Gardens for **Stellar Nights**, hosted by the [Astronomical Society of Victoria](https://www.asv.org.au/Melbourne-Observatory). Stellar Nights is a guided astronomy experience that typically includes: * Telescope viewing (weather permitting) * Viewing through historic and modern telescopes * Short astronomy talks and explanations * A chance to ask questions and learn about what’s visible in the night sky This isn’t a light show or art installation — it’s real observational astronomy run by volunteers who genuinely love space. You’re welcome to join for dinner + the observatory night, or just the main event. **Plan** 5:30 pm – Meet outside **[Oishii Tokyo - South Melbourne](https://maps.app.goo.gl/MehtHSZwghPB7mAm7)** 5:45 pm - Casual seated dinner. Separate bills. 6:45 pm – Walk towards Melbourne Observatory 7:30 pm – Main event begins **Tickets** You’ll need your own ticket for this session. You can purchase it from here [https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/melbourne-gardens/whats-on-melbourne/stellar-nights/](https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/melbourne-gardens/whats-on-melbourne/stellar-nights/). I got my ticket for **$45**. **Important Notes** * Everyone must purchase their own Stellar Nights ticket in advance. * Telescope viewing depends on weather conditions. * Even if clouded out, the evening still includes talks and observatory access. * Dress warmly — you’ll likely be outside at times. * This involves light walking within the gardens. **Who This Is For** * People curious about astronomy and science * Anyone who enjoys calm, structured experiences * After-work social without loud venues or alcohol focus **Meeting point:** Meet outside [Oishii Tokyo - South Melbourne](https://maps.app.goo.gl/MehtHSZwghPB7mAm7) at **5:30pm**. I’ll post a photo of myself here once I arrive. If you’re running late, please message me your ETA beforehand.

Welcome to Melbourne Volleyball Academy. 🤗 **[[WHAT]]** This session is specifically for games only (no training). There will be a cap of 18 players, allowing for 3 teams of 6. Games will be played to 15 points, with a cap at 18 points. These games are intended to be played at a high-intermediate(BB)/advanced(A) level. Please see an explanation of skill levels on our website here: https://melbournevolleyballacademy.com.au/skill-levels-explained **[[WHO]]** The session is intended for Intermediate players. Players should be able to: * Have strong fundamentals for all volleyball techniques * Serve receive a majority of serves well & serve over the net consistently * Basic understanding of 5-1, and 6-2 systems (we do not play a pass middle 4-2 system in this session) * Have an understanding of base defense * Know all/most volleyball rules Players that are not of the intermediate(BB)/advanced(A) level will be asked to leave as we want to ensure that all players have an enjoyable time playing. **[[HOW MUCH $$]]** $14 card payment will be processed on the day via square reader (EFTPOS). **[[WHEN]]** The stadium is booked from 7 PM-9 PM weekly, every Monday. However, feel free to come early and stretch as the Community Centre is open earlier. Last minute dropouts and no shows will have a zero-tolerance policy going forward. All players are expected to update their RSVP at least 24 hours in advanced if they are unable to attend. This applies to players on the going list and the waitlist. **[[OTHER DETAILS]]** Only those on the “going” list are permitted to play. If you are on the waitlist, or not registered at all, you will not be permitted into the gymnasium.

**Register here: [https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1546728](https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1546728)** Ready to strengthen your presence and sharpen your communication impact? Speechcraft is a program designed specifically for people who want to refine their speaking skills, enhance communication, and deliver clear, persuasive messages with confidence. Hosted by Alex Stemate and other experienced speakers from Southbank Toastmasters, this focused workshop series provides structured, practical training in speech organisation, delivery techniques, and persuasive strategy, all in a supportive, feedback-rich environment. Who is this for? * Professionals seeking stronger presentation, leadership, and stakeholder communication skills * Job seekers who want to improve their interviewing skills * Toastmasters members working toward Pathways goals or aiming to elevate their speaking impact * Leaders, managers, and business owners who want to communicate with clarity and authority **Program Sessions** April 19, 10 am to 1 pm Organising Your Speech , Vocal Variety & Body Language Learn how to structure compelling speeches and enhance delivery through vocal control and confident body language. April 26, 10 am to 1 pm Speaking with Purpose , Giving & Receiving Feedback Develop intentional messaging and master the art of constructive, growth-focused feedback. May 3, 10 am to 12 pm Persuasive Speech & Motivational Strategies Craft influential speeches that inspire action and apply proven motivational techniques to engage any audience. This series is practical, interactive, and results-focused, equipping you with tools you can immediately apply in professional settings, presentations, and Toastmasters meetings. **Pricing:** $297 for the entire program Are you a Toastmasters member? Reach out to Alex at [education@d73toastmasters.org](mailto:education@d73toastmasters.org) for a **generous** discount Location: Boyd Library, 207 City Road, Southbank Register here: [https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1546728](https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1546728)

RSVP on our GDG community platform -> https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-melbourne-presents-gdg-melbourne-april-meetup-4/ This event is hosted at the Mantel Group Office, with the recording of the talks to be shared afterwards on YouTube if you can't make it. There will be food, networking and some surprise swag!Agenda: 6:20 - Intro 6:30 - Talks 8:00 till late - networking & chat (& drinks optional)Speakers and Talks: Nicole Ellis, IT @ Monash (Games and Immersive Media) | Team Co-Lead @ MNET | Comms Officer @ MTS'Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt is the Real Barrier (Not Skill)' Most people in tech are not held back by a lack of ability; they are held back by intimidation. We avoid learning new tools and technologies not because we can’t, but because they feel too hard. We tell ourselves we’re “too busy,” we delay starting, and we stick to what feels comfortable. But often, what looks like procrastination is actually fear. Fear of failure, uncertainty, and self-doubt. Drawing from experience in education, esports, and leadership, this talk explores how hesitation shows up across different environments, and why it matters more than technical skill. This session reframes what it means for something to be “hard” and offers a practical approach to taking the first step towards the things you’ve been avoiding. Cameron Pavey, Principal Engineer | Technical Writer @ Rex 'Building systems that learn and grow' Most AI interactions start from zero every time. But what happens when you build systems that persist, accumulate context, and actually improve through use? This session explores the architecture of my long-running AI companion. Not a chatbot that forgets, but systems that learn your household's rhythms, anticipate needs, and develop genuine continuity over months and hopefully years, no OpenClaw required. We'll walk through the engineering decisions that make this possible: memory architecture that balances retrieval with synthesis, multi-facet coordination that lets different subsystems work in parallel, and the practical challenges of keeping a system coherent when it runs 24/7 across months of operation. Narendra Santhosh Nagarajan, Senior Backend Engineer @ TIG Freight Management 'Debugging my way through GCP'How to find us: Doors open at 5:45 PM at our host the Mantel Group, Level 2/452 Flinders St Melbourne. Message via Meetup or Slack if you are arriving after 6:00 as the lifts won't let you up.  This is an in-person only event. If you have any accessibility requirements please reach out via the Meetup or Slack to the organiser group to discuss and we will do our best to help you out. Agenda --- Hosted By Katie Barnett, GDE Android / GDG Organiser Katie is passionate about all things Android. She has taken on a wide variety of challenging projects including in the live event, media and travel space. Her favourite thing is to see someone having a delightful experience using something she has worked on. Katie is very active in the development community, she is a Google Developer Expert for Android, one of the organisers of GDG Melbourne and is a Women Techmakers Ambassador. She frequently runs events, speaks on technical and non-technical topics and enjoys writing blog posts to share her experience with others. Katie is based in Melbourne, Australia but loves to travel the world and outside of tech she enjoys boardgaming and attempting to finish many craft projects. Suesi Tran, Senior Flutter Developer Google Developer Expert in Dart, Flutter & Firebase, Women Techmaker Melbourne ambassador, GDG Melbourne & Flutter Melbourne co-organiser. In short: Flutter is love, and mobile is life. Poornima Sivakumar, GDG Organiser Lovee Jain, GDG Organiser Lovee is a Software Engineer at Prezzee, a GDG Melbourne Organiser and also a Women Techmakers Ambassador. A tech inquisitive philomath, she loves problem solving and solution design. She has worked at a city council where she developed a lot of useful system integrations and while at Prezzee she develops and works on multiple gift card solutions to cater the B2B2C market. Zach Jensz, GDG Organiser Passionate about the web, seamless UX and accessibility. I love attending meetups, find me and come say hi! Ujjawal Raj, GDG Organiser Bramley Turner-Jones, GDG Organiser Yuba Raj (UV) Panta, GDG Cloud Organiser Kartik Arora, Android Engineer Google Developer Expert in Android Android Engineer @ Bilue Carolyn Ai Chi Wong, Complete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-melbourne-presents-gdg-melbourne-april-meetup-4/.

**Note - NEW location for this month only at the AWS Builder Studio!** IMPORTANT - the list of attendees will be provided the day before to security. Just go up the stairs / escalator to level 1 and check with your Photo ID to security. Please get in touch ASAP if you would like to talk at a future event, send us an email at Melbourne(at)serverless.org.au for more info! First time speakers are more than welcome and we can provide you assistance if you need with your presentation beforehand. Please reach out Melbourne(at)serverless.org.au. It can be a regular talk, lightning talk, demo, workshop, whatever is your thing our community will love it - as long as it is serverless related! Venue: AWS Builder Studio, Level 1, 555 Collins St. Melbourne 📅 Agenda 📅 5:30 PM - Doors Open! 6:00 PM - Welcome from the organizers / housekeeping 6:05 PM - **"Changing the engine mid-flight: A startup data pivot" - By Susan Brander, CTO Kaleida** What happens when your startup’s data model is held together with duct tape, but you still have to fly the plane, ship features, and act cool about it? Startups move fast, and sometimes that means making the best architecture decisions you can, and being utterly wrong because you don’t yet fully understand the domain you’re building for. At Kaleida, we chose DynamoDB as the cheapest way to get our product off the ground quickly, pushing relational logic into separate tables and thinking we’d gotten it right and assuming if we hadn’t that we’d clean it up later (if we survived). SPOILER! We survived and thrived! Later came around fast, and it looked like: \- bloated documents * Relational logic spread across tables * Queries dragging us down We knew we’d modelled it wrong, and that not changing it soon would only multiply the difficulties in the future. So, mid-flight, we changed engines. This talk is a candid case study of what it takes to evolve your architecture under pressure: * found our real data inside our current data * Pivoted to a One Table design * Pulled off a zero-downtime migration * Did it all while shipping features and pretending we weren’t panicking. If your team is battling tech debt, scaling pains, a data model that no longer reflects reality, (or you just want to hear about someone else’s war wounds) then come along. 6:35 PM - Pizza & Networking 7:00 PM - "**Let the Agent Read the Boring Reports: AI-Powered Database Auditing for PROTECTED Compliance on AWS**" - **By Christina Chen, Senior DevOps Engineer, Mantel Group** Nobody reads CSV audit reports. But under Australia's IRAP PROTECTED framework, organisations must continuously monitor and evidence database user activity — and assessors want proof. This talk builds a two-stage event-driven pipeline: Lambda extracts MySQL RDS user activity to S3, then a Strands Agent on Bedrock autonomously assesses findings against ISM controls, and generates assessor-ready output 7:30 PM - Networking and finish the Pizza! 8:00 PM - Doors Close, see you next time!

Hi, this is a free comedy night. It is an open mic style night, and so it could be good, or bad, or worse. It really is anything goes... comedy wise. It's at 540 on Barkly, in West Footscray. That's all I can confirm. Come along. I'll be doing 5min on stage. Sorry I can't promise too much. We'll see what it is like together.

🎉 **Melbourne AWS User Group – April Meetup** 🎉 📅 Wednesday, 29 April 📍 NAB Events Hub – 395 Bourke Street, Melbourne ⏰ Food at 6:00 pm, talks from 6:30 pm (with live stream) Join us for our April meetup as we dive into real-world AWS architecture and cutting-edge AI workloads on Kubernetes. This month, we’re exploring how organisations make practical architecture decisions on AWS, and how modern AI tooling and GPU-powered platforms are enabling scalable, real-time applications. This month’s lineup features: • Trent Hornibrook sharing how Bell Financial approaches architecture decisions on AWS. • Yongkang He is presenting a live demo on building and scaling Stable Diffusion on Amazon EKS. A huge thank you to our sponsors: 🥇 Mantel Group – Gold Sponsor, 🥈 Cevo – Silver Sponsor, 🏛 NAB – Venue Sponsor The event will be live-streamed on YouTube as always: https://www.youtube.com/@AWSMelb/streams *** 🗓️ **Agenda** 6:00 pm – Food & Socialising 6:30 pm – Introductions 6:40 pm – What’s New in AWS 6:55 pm – How Bell Financial Architects on AWS (Level 200); Speaker: Trent Hornibrook 7:25 pm – Building and Scaling Stable Diffusion with Amazon EKS (Level 300); Speaker: Yongkang He 7:55 pm – Marketplace (Who’s Hiring) 8:00 pm – Networking + Close *** 🎤 **Talk Details** **How Bell Financial Architects on AWS** Speaker: Trent Hornibrook Level: 200 In this session, Trent will share how Bell Financial approaches architecture decisions and the key choices they’ve made when designing and operating workloads on AWS. This talk provides practical insight into real-world decision-making, trade-offs, and architectural patterns used in a financial services environment. *** **Building and Scaling Stable Diffusion with Amazon EKS** Speaker: Yongkang He Level: 300 Imagine generating AI images from text prompts — powered by Kubernetes, GPUs, and built with the help of Amazon Kiro. In this session (with live demo), we’ll walk through building and deploying a full AI image generator using Stable Diffusion XL on Amazon EKS. From containerisation and GPU nodes to scaling inference and pushing to Amazon ECR, you’ll see how it all comes together in a real-world setup. 💡 Key takeaways: • Build and scale Stable Diffusion on EKS • Use Kiro to accelerate development from code to deployment • Understand GPU scheduling and autoscaling in Kubernetes • Live demo of real-time image generation on AWS *** 🙌 **Want to Speak at a Future Meetup?** We’re always looking for new speakers and believe everyone has an interesting talk waiting to be shared. If you’d like to present at a future event, reach out at the meetup or via our website: https://melb.awsug.org.au/speak/

**Who We are..... 🤝** Our journey to bring people together began in January of 2022. The group was started with a simple intention to gather and meet some likeminded people - connecting through the powerful act of meditation and sharing our genuine selves while sitting in a circle that represents equality, harmony and wholeness( *we believe everyone in the circle is a teacher and a student at the same time)*. And over the last 4 years of consistently coming together, we have fostered a beautiful, loving, dependable community where members from all walks of life have experienced a sacred space to sit in silence together and meditate, share their authentic selves, give presence to others and forge meaningful and long lasting connections. The Meditations are guided by Sana(co-founder and host), who is a Trained and certified meditation teacher by the Meditation Association of Australia, and has been guiding meditations for 3+ years in corporate and community settings. ✨ **Do you wish to....** * Experience a simple yet powerful meditation and breathing practice to find calm, relaxation and clarity * Connect with like-minded people in your local community and foster meaningful connections * Meet others who are passionate about growing, uplifting themselves, and supporting others * Share insights from your personal journey (or simply listen and learn) Or maybe you just want to... ☮️ **Spend your Sunday evening in a peaceful, zen space and meet new people? Bring a friend (or two!) and let’s connect.** **What’s on the evening’s flow?** * **Open meet & greet** – connect and settle in * **5 min guided meditation** to land into the space and connect within * **Sharing circle** (totally optional!) – share your thoughts or simply listen * **20-30 min guided meditation** – for relaxation and deeper connection **Where?** 📍 **250 George St, Fitzroy VIC 3065** Enter through the church gates. You’ll see a small garden on the left and stairs on the right leading up to the **Dance of Life Yoga Studio (first door on your right upstairs).** **What to bring?** * **Donation:** A contribution of **$15 or more is recommended**. Your donations directly help us cover venue, meetup membership and other costs, provide valuable resources, and keep this meditation community alive and growing. * **Warm jumper/jacket** (just in case!) * **Water** * **Any books/resources/inspiration you’d love to share** **Important Notes:** * Spaces are **limited**, so if you can’t make it, please update your RSVP to “Not going” or send us a quick message. * **No-show policy:** To keep it fair for everyone, repeat no-shows without notice may not be able to RSVP in the future. * Attendees under 18 must have a guardian present. **Everyone is welcome!** All ages (with guardians for under 18), backgrounds, genders, and experiences – no meditation experience needed. The event runs for about **2.5 hours**, but you’re free to come and go as you need.

Come along and join in a relaxed evening of dev and tech talk, drinks and dinner.

Christians in Tech is a community at the intersection of faith and technology. Our meetups are designed to spark meaningful conversations, promote knowledge sharing, and encourage growth—both in your career and your spiritual walk with God. Whether you're an experienced professional or just starting your tech journey, CIT welcomes you. Our Website [https://linktr.ee/citcbus](https://linktr.ee/citcbus) Sponsors and Partners * Improving (Venue Sponsor) * Bethel World Prayer Center (Fiscal Sponsor) * Fruits & Roots (Coffee Partner)

Join other experienced and aspiring agile coaches and professionals to: * develop and practice your coaching skills in a peer-to-peer environment * share current successes and challenges in your work environment and get support from each other * learn from each other, build better relationships and experiment with new ideas ***NOTE:*** Pre-registration is required for this event. **Please arrive 10 minutes early** to check in at the security desk.

It feels like we just saw each other 🤷. Join members of the local design and UX community for our monthly breakfast. For May we’re stopping in for Rooh’s popup breakfast/cafe concept. You know someone is getting the lobster yuzu croissant, and that’s not even the prettiest thing on the menu!.

**Improving Office in Franklinton** Physical location: Improving Office 330 Rush Alley Suite #150 Columbus, OH 43215 Schedule: 6:00 p.m.: Socialize, eat, and drink. Improving will be providing pizza and beverages. 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Main meeting and presentation(s). Topic: This month Chris Pazsint will be talking about Agentic Coding. How does one use CLI Based Agents, and Agentic IDEs such as Cursor, Kiro, Antigravity? How to include agentic coding plugins for IDEs you already love such as Visual Studio Code. We meet on the last Monday of each Month. Presentations are given by members and friends of this group. If you would like to do a presentation (small or large) on a python topic, please contact Central OH Python at centralohpython@gmail.com

How to be a Better Communicator Communication is everything in life You are only as successful as your ability to communicate. \- What if you could confidently talk to anyone? \- What if you had the ability to calmly control every conversation? \- What if you could close that sale\, ask for that date\, make new friends\, repair problematic relationships\, get that raise\, or effortlessly express any idea with confidence? You can! The secret to success relies on your ability or inability to effectively communicate. Attend a free seminar and gain a better ability to communicate. Hosted by the Church of Scientology of Central Ohio 1266 Dublin Road, Columbus, OH 43215 For more information, contact Rhiannon, the Event Host at 614-221-5024

Bring your Raspberry Pi, Arduino, microcontroller, or any other electronic project and join fellow electronics makers for a night of creativity and collaboration! This session is open forum to share your current projects—whether complete or in progress, it’s all interesting! Whether you’re deep into embedded systems, exploring new ideas, or just getting started, you’ll find a welcoming space to collaborate, share, and get inspired. **New to electronics or curious about tinkering?** You’re absolutely welcome. If you’re a beginner and want to experiment, I’ll have a couple of starter kits available so you can try things out—whether that’s blinking your first LED, putting something on a display, or experimenting with simple sensors. No pressure and no experience required—just an interest in learning and building. While we continue to pursue a more permanent venue for this Meetup, we’ll be using public library facilities based on availability. This session will be at the Worthington Park Library in the Olentangy Meeting Room.

Bring your work or your hobby, hang out, and code with us. Follow @buckeyecocoa for more information.