Institute of Professional Editors Limited

IPEd Notes

News from the Institute of Professional Editors

February 2008

Obesa cantavit*

On 2 August 1998 the presidents of six Australian societies of editors met in Melbourne to discuss how they might bring their state-based societies together in some way. During the decade since then the societies have chalked up many collaborative efforts, but perhaps the most important is drawing up and agreeing on a constitution that enables them to federate as a national body. On 22 January 2008 the Australian Securities and Investments Commission issued a certificate of registration for the Institute of Professional Editors as a public company limited by guarantee. Special thanks to Virginia Wilton of the Canberra society for her tireless work on the detail of the constitution and to Ed Highley, secretary of the Interim Council, for seeing it through.

*The fat lady has sung.

Accreditation

Karen Disney of the South Australian society has been participating in national action ever since she attended that initial meeting in Melbourne ten years ago. As the current chair of the Accreditation Board, Karen prodded the board into action after the holidays with a teleconference at the end of  January. The major item on the agenda was the arrangements for the first editing examination, including consideration of the feedback from the issues paper circulated in the second half of last year as well as the costs and logistics of running the exam. The board is working closely with the Assessors Forum, which is responsible for the content and marking of the examination paper. The plan is to hold the first exam in mid-2008; more details next month.

Website

The IPEd website <www.iped-editors.org> is looking better all the time. It now contains an RSS feed for continuous updates and a calendar to keep track of professional events. Training officers in particular are urged to post details of their society's programs so that members can plan their professional development. And members are urged to fill in the web user survey - the information you supply will form the basis of a submission to obtain funding that will enable IPEd to sponsor tailored computer training for member societies.

2009 conference

The South Australian society will host our next national conference in Adelaide in October 2009. It seems a long way off, but now is the time to start making plans - saving your pennies or dropping hints to your employer - for this fully tax-deductible expenditure on your professional development.

Janet Mackenzie

Liaison Officer