Upcoming APEN Online Events

• September 2026 — APEN Conversation with John James and Denise Bewsell

• October 2026 — Webinar (details coming soon)

• November 2026 — APEN Conversation (details coming soon)

2026 APEN Conversations 

APEN Conversations are member-only virtual discussions held on Zoom. Each session brings members together to explore a topic in extension practice, sharing experiences, asking questions, and learning from each other. They run every two months from May to November, and they're free for all members. Log in to your member account to register.

The extension practitioner's compass: a model for guiding effective practice

Thursday 24 September 2026
2pm NZST | 12pm AEST | 11:30am ACST | 10am AWST
One hour, online via Zoom
Free for APEN members. This session will not be recorded.

About this session

What guides the way we work as extension practitioners? Beyond the tools, methods and activities we use, effective practice is shaped by the principles, assumptions and ways of thinking that sit underneath our decisions.

In this practical one-hour session, John James and Denise Bewsell from Enablers of Change explore a model of practice for agricultural extension: one that can help us make more deliberate choices, adapt to different contexts, and strengthen the way we support farmers and others through change.

Nursing, teaching and social work all have a model of practice, a framework that sets out how the work should be done rather than only what it covers. Extension has one too, co-developed with practitioners and farmers in Queensland and published in APEN's own Rural Extension and Innovation Systems Journal. This session is an opportunity to reflect on your own practice and consider what makes up your professional compass.

What to expect

• What a model of practice is, and why other professions rely on them
• A model of practice for agricultural extension, and where it came from
• Making more deliberate choices, and adapting practice to different contexts
• Time to reflect on your own practice and the assumptions underneath it
• Room for questions and discussion. This is a conversation, not a lecture

Karen Smith will host, with a short introduction and time at the end for questions.

Register

APEN Conversations are free for members. Log in to your member account for the registration link.

Background reading

Williams, A., James, J., & Prichard, P. (2021). Developing an Extension Model of Practice to guide and empower extension practitioners. Rural Extension and Innovation Systems Journal, 17(1), 10-20. Read the article

About the Facilitators

John James

Dr John James is passionate about enabling change and innovation, and helping others to learn and build their capability in this area.

John is an Adjunct Associate Professor with The University of Queensland. For his PhD, he investigated the factors that affect the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies. You can read a summary of his PhD thesis and even download the whole document if you’re keen.

After completing a degree in horticultural science, John’s first role was as an industry development officer. During that time he began to understand the purpose of extension, and realised that to enable change he needed to better understand people and how they approached decision making and change. So it was back to uni where John completed a Masters degree focusing on adult learning, psychology and business management. That eventually led him to working at the Rural Extension Centre, coordinating the delivery of post-graduate courses in agricultural extension where he was able to share his passion and expertise with students from across Australia and beyond.

He has also been heavily involved with the Australasia-Pacific Extension Network (APEN), the professional association for those involved with extension from Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Amongst other roles, he was APEN President for five years and he also established the APEN mentoring scheme. John was inducted as one of the first APEN Life Members in 2018. He was the convenor for the APEN international conference held in Tasmania in November 2023. 

John enjoys using online collaboration tools to complement face-to-face communication. He pioneered the use of webinars in agriculture to connect with a geographically distributed audience. One of John’s career highlights was launching the Enabling change and innovation webinar series back in 2012. He provides consulting services around designing extension projects for impact, facilitating high impact events, and monitoring and evaluation of extension projects. 

In his spare time, John serves as the Convenor of the Hobart Rivulet Bushcare Group. This dedicated group of volunteers work to restore the Hobart Rivulet, fostering a healthy habitat for our iconic platypus and other wildlife. The group plants native sedges, shrubs, and trees to enhance biodiversity and aesthetics, while also improving the environment for local fauna and flora. Additionally, they remove invasive weeds like blackberry and thistles, and regularly collect litter along the rivulet’s banks.

Denise Bewsell

Denise loves chocolate! She wishes she worked as a taste tester for Whittaker’s Chocolates (Whittaker’s if you are reading this, please get in touch!) but instead spends her days helping support facilitators… with Whittaker’s chocolate usually!

After completing a degree in Agricultural Science, Denise took up a role as an extension officer working on irrigation management. She worked in this area for a number of years before getting involved in extension research and understanding adoption of new practices. This led to a Masters degree focusing on how people respond to information using biosecurity as an example. She has worked extensively with the red meat sector, supporting facilitators, and helping spread ideas on effective ways of enabling change, as part of the Red Meat Profit Partnership. She now works at Scarlatti as a Principal, leading the extension programme design area.  

Like John, Denise has been involved in APEN. She was the NZ representative for six years, is an associate editor for the APEN journal – the Rural Extension and Innovation Systems journal, and is now also an APEN Life member. 

Denise wants people to have the opportunity to hear more about enabling change – in whatever role they have – so is excited to be involved with Enablers of change!

2026 APEN Webinars

APEN webinars are online learning sessions on Zoom, running every two months from June to October. Each session features a presenter working in extension, with time for questions and discussion. Webinars are free for members, visit the members area to access your complimentary registration code. Non-members are welcome to attend for $40 + GST.

Details of the next webinar are being confirmed. More information coming soon.