We were recently honoured and proud to learn that Sonia Ortega was named a finalist for the Premier of NSW’s Export Awards. Each year, the awards are announced to recognize individuals and companies that work to export Australian innovation, ideas and culture around the world and we are proud to do that through our work with the homestay and international student community.

The pool of applicants for this year’s award was larger than any pool in the award’s 53 year history and there were 85 finalists selected. The award ceremony will be held on 28 Octobrer at the Star, at Pyrmont in Sydney. Attending will be the Hon. Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW, Minister for Western Sydney and The Hon. Stuart Ayres MP, Member for Penrith, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events, Minister for Sport.

Lisa McAuley, Chief Executive Officer for the Export Council of Australia said “What is pleasing to see from the 2015 finalists is the diversity of the companies that entered the awards this year. There were fantastic submissions from a range of industry sectors, which show how important sectors such as services and ICT are for future trade development in Australia,” Ms McAuley said.

As part of the lead up to the awards ceremony at the end of October, Global Experience has joined other companies in participating in the ECA’s “Around the World in 80 Deals” campaign. Showcasing what Australian organisations are doing to export values and ideals around the globe, this social media campaign allows us to share some of our greatest success stories through Twitter.

Look for posts from Global Experience on Twitter with the hashtag #80deals and make sure to follow @aussieexport to see all of the entries from other finalists and participants. Global Experience will continue to post there weekly throughout the month with stories of its many successful students and outreach overseas.

You can learn more about the awards on the Export Council’s website here and make sure to stay in touch on Twitter and throughout our other social media channels to learn more about the awards, their finalists and the eventual winners.