Raising the Bar Adelaide
Home > Business & Economy > Supporting Local Business > Raising the Bar Adelaide
Raising the Bar is a global initiative making education and innovation a part of our City’s popular culture.
Save the date!
Raising the Bar returns on Tuesday 5 August 2025
Don't miss this thought-provoking night of talks in local venues.
Speakers will be announced soon. Visit the event listing to add it to your calendar.
20 TALKS. 10 BARS. 1 NIGHT.
About
Raising the Bar Adelaide has cemented its reputation as one of South Australia’s most thought-provoking and engaging local events—bringing expert discussion into casual pub settings.
Since 2018, it has transformed bars across the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters into venues for big ideas and bold conversations. This award-winning, one-night-only event challenges, inspires and connects audiences.
Part of a global initiative that began in New York, Raising the Bar now spans cities across the world, including Hong Kong, London, Sydney—and Adelaide.
2024 speakers
Venue | Time | Speaker | Lecture Title |
The Robin Hood Hotel | 6.30pm | Dominic McAfee | Reversing extinction; repairing the sea for a brighter future |
8.00pm | Abby Potter | Navigating fashion in a cost-of-living and global-warming crisis | |
The Colonist |
6.30pm |
Mike Schwarzer | If You Want to Change the World, Think Less and Be a Ripple of Consciousness! |
8.00pm | Bel Ryan | Hey World – We Need to Chat | |
Maylands Hotel | 6.30pm | Elizabeth Williamson | Resilience Re:Imagined |
8.00pm |
Scott Zarcinas | The Flea Circus: How to Break Bad Habits and Live Effectively | |
Ferg's Stepney
|
6.30pm |
Evangeline Mantzioris | The Mediterranean Diet - much more than a dietary pattern |
8.00pm |
John Boland | Electricity from Renewables – SA the World Leader | |
Reform Distilling | 6.30pm | Benjemen Elengovan | How to earn extra income by starting a sidehustle? |
8.00pm | Kate Burr | Think Like a Comedian | |
Britannia Hotel | 6.30pm | Rosemary Cadden | Warning: "To dabble in history means submitting yourself to chaos" |
8.00pm | Brad Irvine-Thomas |
Workplace Wisdom: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities |
|
The Suburban Brew | 6.30pm | Rick Sarre | "Let's get the lawyers out of sport!" Really? |
8.00pm | Kellie Finlayson and Sophie Edwards | Sh!t Talkers in Conversations | |
Little Bang Brewing |
6.30pm |
Sean Fewster & Daniel Panozzo | Suppression versus silence: Separating the public interest from the interested public |
8.00pm | Wala Truscott | Intimate Relationships: More Sexy Eyes, Less Stink Eye | |
Republic Norwood |
6.30pm |
Tania Savelli | You're The Voice! How Finding Your Voice Can Elevate Your Career (cancelled) |
8.00pm |
Dr Shohreh Majd | Fixed or Growth Mindset? How Our Beliefs Shape Our Success | |
The Rising Sun Inn |
6.30pm |
Simon Robert Dawson | Body Language Reading the Signals Successfully |
8.00pm | Adel Brewer | Have You Ever Felt Like You Didn't Have A Voice? |
2023 speakers
Speaker Name | Venue Name | Lecture Title | Time |
Sean Fewster and Daniel Panozzo | Alma Tavern | The four-way intersection: Bias, journalism, true crime and empathy | 6.30pm |
Lyn Barrington & Sarah Moulds | Alma Tavern | A Conversation with a Survivor. | 8.30pm |
Daniel Kirk | Bath Hotel | Adapting to Thrive | 6.30pm |
Benjemen Elengovan | Britannia | How working on 19 odd gigs made me start MyGigsters | 6.30pm |
William Swale | Britannia | The roller-coaster of a fashion start up | 8.30pm |
Michelle Holland | KHOU by Signature Wines | Myths at Work: Business Culture Could Be Holding You Back | 6.30pm |
Simon Dawson | KHOU by Signature Wines | Body Language - what it means and how to read it | 8.30pm |
Rick Sarre | Lambrook Wines | 10 things we can do tomorrow to curb crime | 6.30pm |
Marie Shaw KC | Lambrook Wines | Miscarriages of justice and how are they exposed | 8.30pm |
Helen Smith | Maylands Hotel | 45 faces of positive ageing | 6.30pm |
Rebecca Perry | Maylands Hotel | Early detection of cardiac abnormalities that can lead to sudden cardiac death | 8.30pm |
Wala Truscott | Reform Distilling | Why do intimate relationships either deepen or dwindle? | 6.30pm |
Dr Evangeline Mantzioris | Reform Distilling | When it comes to diet, can we really eat everythig in moderation? | 8.30pm |
Monique Bareham | The Colonist | 10 Years of Cancer survivorship advocacy | 6.30pm |
Nicholas Lee | The Rising Sun Inn | Preventing bowel cancer and the test that might save your life | 6.30pm |
Dominic McAfee | The Rising Sun Inn | How oysters made human history | 8.30pm |
John Boland | The Suburban Brew | The Goldilocks House - How to make your home comfortable without skyrocketing power bills | 6.30pm |
Brett Aylen | The Suburban Brew | What is a Healthy House? | 8.30pm |
Image gallery
Raising the Bar 2024: