Family matters is pleased to welcome our special guest blogger for August, Shauna Hicks, national coordinator of National Family History Month.

August is National Family History Month in Australia which is an initiative
of AFFHO, the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations. It
started as a week in 2006 and from 2013 it has been the whole of August.
This year the major sponsors are Ancestry.com.au, FamilySearch, MyHeritage,
AFFHO and the National Archives of Australia is again hosting the launch,
something they have done since 2006. This year the launch is in Canberra.

There are hundreds of events across Australia. The NFHM web calendar is
divided up into the individual States and Territories then events are listed
in postcode order then date order within postcodes. So remember to check
surrounding postcodes as it might be an easy drive to an event in a
neighbouring suburb. Some events may even be worth travelling some distance
to attend.

For the first time there is an Online Events category for those people who
do not have events in their area or cannot get to them due to work hours,
lack of transport and so on. There are webinars, google hangouts and other
activities to do at home.

It is good to see that State Library of Victoria is continuing the tradition of Family History Feast and the 2014 program with its multicultural theme looks really exciting. Although I do not live in Melbourne anymore I will still be able to hear the sessions when the Library puts the podcasts online. I also like the fact that I can go back and listen to earlier years too.

As well as the major NFHM sponsors mentioned above, there are prize sponsors with
a giveaway prize draw for genealogy and family history societies and
individuals. Instructions on how to enter the prize giveaway and terms and
conditions can be found on the NFHM home page and a list of prize sponsors
and the prizes are on the NFHM sponsors page.

The NFHM Facebook page will be used to keep people informed of any new
events or changes and I will also be doing updates in my Diary
of an Australian Genealogist blog. Others will also be tweeting (hash tag
#NFHM2014), using Facebook, Google +, blog posts and other social media to
highlight events across Australia.

So please join me in celebrating genealogy and family history throughout August.

Shauna Hicks, national coordinator on behalf of AFFHO