The Alfred Deakin Innovation Lectures 2005
Innovation:
Everyone, Everyday, Everywhere
More than ever before, Australia’s prosperity depends on original
thinkers; people who are prepared to take risks, people who challenge
the norms. Real Estate and mining booms will not provide financial security
forever. Our approach to the concepts of innovation and creativity must
be generous and open-minded. It requires the active engagement of all
sectors of society; politicians and policy-makers, educators and economists,
business and community leaders, urban and regional citizens alike.
In an attempt to bring these ideas to as wide an audience as possible,
The Alfred Deakin Innovation Lectures took place in Melbourne Town Hall
as well as Broadmeadows, Frankston, St Albans, Bendigo, Geelong, Mildura,
Warrnambool and Wondonga. To see a full listing of the 2005 lectures
and venues visit the Deakin
Lectures website.
The lectures were free and open to anyone. They were dedicated
to having a thoughtful, provocative and very public conversation. Above
all, The Alfred Deakin Innovation Lectures were offered in a spirit
of genuine curiosity, to a city and state which values open debate and
in a world of rapid and constant change.
Not all technological developments are welcome. Some have the potential
to devastate humanity. The proliferation of everything from a $30 land
mine to a dirty bomb poses a constant challenge to international security
agencies. How are they coping with these unprecedented challenges? What
resources and strategies are needed to ensure the safety of our communities?
The speaker is Leonie Barnes, Technical Advisor, United Nations Mine
Action Service, Sri Lanka. Transcripts of previous
Deakin Lectures on Radio National are still available.
Australia's economic performance over the last decade has been remarkable.
Employment figures are at their best for many years. With the federal
government about to embark upon another round of labour reform, the
challenges for unions and business are huge. Transcripts of previous
Deakin Lectures on Radio National are still available.
Featuring Jonathan West from the Designing
A Future Or Tempting Fate Life Sciences Project at Harvard University
who identifies the challenges ahead and analyses possible scenarios
for long-term strategic planning in the areas of environment, politics,
education, international relations, trade, culture and R & D, and
Alan Wu, Chair of the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition. Introduced
by Juan Enriquez, founding Director of the Harvard Business School Life
Science Project, business man, academician and best selling author.
Transcripts of previous Deakin Lectures
on Radio National are still available.
Much of the public debate about the state of the environment is faddish
and fanatical. Rarely are the issues of soil and salinity, noxious weeds,
fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, land clearing, water management
and other environmental challenges discussed in an integrated way. This
session tackles the highly complex issues of biodiversity in Australia.
Transcripts of previous Deakin Lectures
on Radio National are still available.
We live in fragile times. Our world is smaller and more linked than
ever before; our economic prosperity, political stability and environmental
survival is all deeply enmeshed. Perhaps our greatest challenge lies
in coming to terms with some profound cultural differences; differences
that still separate Western and Eastern cultures. The acclaimed author
of Can Asians Think?, Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani
poses some highly provocative challenges for Western and Eastern societies
alike. Transcripts of previous Deakin
Lectures on Radio National are still available.
