Community Service Sydney

Volunteering Oppotunity - Bayside Beaches Cleanup

We are looking for volunteers to clean up Bayside Beaches together We love spending time on a clean beach and so do you! Join us for a volunteer beach clean-up and help keep our beaches beautiful and enjoyable for everyone. ### How to join: Step 1: Book the ticket Step 2: Wait for email confirmation Step 3: We will email you the exact location and Point of contact 2 days before the event Step 4: Show up on the date, receive cleaning equipment from organisers and start Have questions? Text us: 0426 001 696 - Danni Nguyen

Sydney MongoDB User Group - September 2026

RSVP over on Luma! [https://luma.com/q4gace6n](https://luma.com/q4gace6n) Event Details: Come connect with fellow developers, tech enthusiasts, and the curious-minded for an evening exploring the best practices and real-world use cases powering modern apps with MongoDB. Whether you're building your first project or scaling to millions of users, you'll walk away with practical insights, fresh ideas, and a great group of people to swap notes with. ​Grab a drink, meet the local MongoDB community, and see what's possible when you build with the right database. See you there! ## ​**Agenda** ​**17.00:** Arrival & Networking **18.00:** Welcome **18.10:** MongoDB Atlas Search under the Hood 🔍 **18.40:** Your LLM Is Burning Cash. MongoDB Might Be the Fire Extinguisher 💰🧯 **19.10:** Pizza & Networking **20.00:** Event Close ​----- ## ​Session Details ​**MongoDB Atlas Search under the Hood** 🔍 Luke Thompson, Chief Architect, Clarifresh ​Let's explore the newly open-sourced service MongoT, a Java sidecar application which runs alongside the C++ MongoD service providing additional search capabilities. We'll take a quick look around the codebase, spin it up and show how real Atlas Search queries turn into Lucene index searches. Bio: Luke Thompson is a software architect and passionate coder building software by day and by night. He applies his talents, such as they are, to make things as good as they can be. ​ ​**Your LLM Is Burning Cash. MongoDB Might Be the Fire Extinguisher 💰🧯** Jinu VM, Advisory Solutions Architect, MongoDB ​Every token you send to an LLM costs money and most teams are sending way more than they need to. Bloated context windows, redundant retrieval, and poorly managed memory are quietly driving up inference costs and slowing down response times, all while making your AI *less* accurate, not more. In this session, we'll dig into how smart context engineering and memory management can put out the fire. You'll learn how MongoDB can serve as the backbone for leaner, smarter AI applications. From efficient vector search and retrieval strategies that cut down on unnecessary context, to persistent memory architectures that let your LLM remember what matters without re-sending it every time. **What you'll walk away with:** * ​Why bigger context windows aren't always better (and often cost you accuracy *and* cash) * ​Practical patterns for structuring memory: short-term, long-term, and episodic * ​How vector search and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) can trim your token spend without sacrificing quality * ​Real-world architecture patterns for building cost-efficient, context-aware AI applications on MongoDB ​Whether you're building agents, chatbots, or RAG pipelines, this session will help you rethink how you manage context so your LLM budget stops going up in smoke.

Unhurried Conversations - Saturday

Bring yourself along, we explain how it works.

Welcome to the next 2026 AWS Sydney Well-Architected Meetup!

Hi Architects, Welcome to the next 2026 AWS Sydney Well-Architected User Group Meetup! Each month we cover off AWS best-practices across all pillars and give away drones - lots of drones 🥳 **Please also note that AWS Security now requests a company name and company email where it is available. If you are a student, please list your institution and your student email address at that institution 👍** We'll be announcing more speakers on [https://well-architected.me](https://well-architected.me/) and previewing presentations during the coming weeks - our speakers and details this month include: * **Shilin Wu, Principal Solution Architect — VeloDB / Apache Doris** **Cost-Efficient Real-Time Analytics on AWS: Storage-Compute Separation with Apache Doris** Real-time analytics have a reputation for being expensive — you pay for fast storage you barely use, and for compute that sits idle overnight. This session walks through VeloDB / Apache Doris's storage-compute separation architecture on AWS, showing how to push warm data down to S3 while keeping sub-second query latency on the data that matters. We'll round off with a **live demo** querying billions of rows against S3-backed storage, soattendees can see the latency-vs-cost trade-off in action rather than on a slide. * **Mystery Speaker** **Generative AI Cost Optimisation** Cost Optimisation is essential but with all the anecdotal stories of massive token budget blowouts, staying on top of Generative AI best-practices is essential to avoiding these scenarios. This month's menu will include: * Pizzas * Beer: Nastro Azzurro * Wine: Big and red 🤤 So come join us at 5:30 for a 6pm **SHARP** start, followed by beer, wine, pizza and friendly networking after our talks :-) Tired of Linkedin’s "thought leadership”, spam and advertising? Join https://well-architected.me/ , the AWS community built for architects, developers and cloud professionals. * Connect with experienced AWS practitioners * Preview upcoming AWS Meetups and relive past content * Create and review beautiful AWS case studies in minutes * Prepare for AWS certifications with curated quizzes * Show your manager and reports you’re well-architected (Please note that by registering to attend you agree to your details being shared as and where required with Amazon Web Services and AWS Well-Architected User Group partners)

Unhurried Conversations - Sunday

Bring yourself, we will go over how Unhurried Conversations works.

Assertive Communication: 1 Day Session in Sydney

## Details **Overview** **Assertive Communication: Speak Up with Confidence, Not Conflict"** A hands-on 1-day workshop teaching professionals to communicate assertively, set boundaries, and handle tough conversations calmly." **Ready to secure your spot? 🎯 Register now and complete your payment securely via Stripe Checkout!** [Click Here](https://buy.stripe.com/8x2bJ1aam1YGeG4aeg2oE43) **The Details** **Duration:** 1 Day \| 8 Credits **Delivery:** Classroom / Virtual **Language:** English **Includes:** Course Completion Certificate **Refreshments:** Lunch, snacks, and beverages will be provided during the session *** **You Have the Right Idea. You Just Never Say It Out Loud.** You've sat in the meeting knowing exactly what should be said — and said nothing. You've agreed to something you didn't have time for, again. You've watched someone else take credit for your idea because you delivered it too quietly to claim it. This isn't a confidence problem you can't fix. It's a communication style — and styles can be learned. This one-day, interactive workshop teaches you the difference between staying silent, snapping under pressure, and saying exactly what you mean — clearly, calmly, and without guilt. No personality overhaul required. Just practical tools you can use in your very next difficult conversation. *** **Is This You?** * "I know what I want to say, but I freeze up or soften it until it's meaningless." * "I say yes to things I don't have the time or desire to do." * "I either avoid conflict completely or I lose my composure when it happens." * "I want to be taken seriously without coming across as aggressive." * "I struggle to set boundaries, especially with dominant personalities." If any of that sounds familiar, this workshop was built for you. *** **What You'll Walk Out Knowing How to Do** **Module 1 — Understand Where You Stand** Learn to distinguish assertive, passive, and aggressive behavior, recognize how your tone and style land on others, and pinpoint your own current communication pattern through self-assessment. **Module 2 — Build the Confidence Behind the Words** Understand what's really driving your hesitation, build a steadier inner confidence, and learn to recognize your personal triggers before they take over a conversation. **Module 3 — Say It Clearly, Say It Right** Master "I" statements, tone, timing, and body language — and learn to balance empathy with firmness so you come across as clear, not cold. **Module 4 — Handle the Conversations You've Been Avoiding** Learn to receive criticism and navigate disagreement without losing your composure, give and receive feedback constructively, and stay grounded when things get emotionally charged — practiced live through role play. **Module 5 — Set Boundaries That Actually Hold** Learn to identify and communicate your boundaries, hold your ground with dominant or aggressive personalities, and practice assertive negotiation and refusal techniques. **Module 6 — Bring It Into Your Team** Learn to foster open dialogue and trust, influence colleagues without formal authority, and use assertiveness to strengthen collaboration and leadership. **Module 7 — Leave With a Plan You'll Actually Use** Build a personalized assertiveness action plan, get real peer feedback, and take home a daily checklist to keep the habit alive after the workshop ends. *** **Why This Works** ✔ Practical exercises, role play, and peer feedback — not just theory ✔ A personalized action plan you leave with, not just notes ✔ Techniques you can use in your very next hard conversation ✔ Taught in a single, focused day — no long course to drag through *** **Who Should Attend** * Team Leaders and Supervisors * Managers and Executives * HR and People Managers * Project Coordinators and Client-Facing Professionals * Anyone who struggles to say "no" or express themselves confidently *** **Train Your Whole Team, Not Just One Person** One assertive communicator on a team helps. A whole team that can raise concerns, give feedback, and hold boundaries without conflict dragging on for days — that changes how the team actually works. **Bring this course to your organization, including:** * Content shaped around your team's culture and communication challenges * Scenarios built around your team's real dynamics, not generic examples * Delivery in-house or virtually * Group pricing for teams of any size **📩 Reach out at [corporate@mangates.com](mailto:corporate@mangates.com) to build a session around your team.** **Stop Rehearsing What You Should Have Said** Register now and walk out with the confidence, language, and boundaries to say what you mean — the first time. info@mangates\.com \| \+61 \(0\) 2 80155605 ***

Meet & Chat with Nice People at FREE Volunteer run Restaurant North Sydney

IMHO Our regular FREE DINNER meetups, attended by 200+ nice people are the best & **friendliest** in the world... See our photos, comments etc. Before coming please ring us ASAP for more info 0419500023 You'll meet some of Sydney's nicest, brightest & most **MULTICULTURAL PEOPLE** at this beautiful OUTDOOR secret location including people from several other meetup groups... **SEE OUR PHOTOS** DEEP & MEANINGFUL discussion topics will include SECRETS OF HAVING A NICE, AFFORDABLE & SUCCESSFUL LIFE IN SYDNEY eg **COST OF LIVING SECRETS & REAL & PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS** from locals etc etc AND have a great **FREE DINNER** with them... **See photos** of our previous meetups You'll improve your knowledge of **AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE & CULTURE** at this nice, friendly & FREE EVENT **IMPORTANT: RING me for full up to minute info NOW 0419500023...** **Otherwise we may not be able to help you as places are very limited etc** **Google map is not accurate...** Multicultural International and Exchange Students Language Exchange New In Town Singles

Drummoyne Toastmasters Meeting @ Club 5 Dock

Join us to Develop 'YOU'. Improving your confidence, leadership skills, public speaking and communication skills are all benefits that could have a great impact on your personal life and career. Members of Toastmasters find unlimited opportunities for personal and professional growth and development. Joining Toastmasters could change your life. Great time, great venue, great Club. Supporting you in: * Giving prepared speeches * Talking “off the cuff” * Giving evaluations * Telling jokes and stories * Chairing meetings * Meeting management skills * Handling props * Using audio-visual equipment This is a place where you will: Continue to grow; Enhance your social skills; Be entertained; Laugh...... and HAVE FUN! Our meetings are held at **Club Five Dock RSL**. To **confirm your attendance** please RSVP or email your details to **president.drummoyne@toastmastersD70.org**

Unhurried Conversations at the Pub

In an unhurried conversation, there is time to think differently and connect with people in a refreshing way. Unhurried isn't always slow. It offers a pace where people find it easy to join in and not feel crowded out. And listening can be as satisfying as talking. We use a simple meeting format to make this happen. https://www.unhurried.org/ This newly created event is at a new venue, the Keg & Bew Hotel at Surry Hills. We meet on the 2nd floor around 6:15pm. Food and drinks are available, before and after, on the ground floor and roof top.

Play pickleball at Pennant Hills Park! Sunday 2pm

Women in Projects Australia: 8th Anniversary

Join Women in Projects Australia to Celebrate 8 years of Women in Projects Australia. We'll celebrate at the iconic Sydney Opera House (Opera Bar). Celebrate your year, our year and the progress we have made. I'll grab a table about 5:30pm, come along and join us!

Meet & Chat with Nice People at FREE Volunteer run Restaurant North Sydney !