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Santina Reaches Summit with 2020 Vision
By Assoc Professor Santina Bertone, Associate Dean (Research & Research Training)I’m no stranger to conferences. As an academic and policy activist I’ve probably been to hundreds. However, I can truly say that the 2020 Summit was the most unique and exhilarating gathering I’ve attended. It was such a bold concept. A thousand ‘experts’ descending on Parliament House to offer two days of policy advice to the newly minted federal government . Full media coverage and public viewing of all the proceedings. Senior politicians, celebrities and leading bureaucrats mingling with participants, garnering ideas as they were generated. Images, words and debates beamed to households around Australia via web, TV, radio and newspapers. Who would believe it? Though I’d had a sense of the mounting public interest and excitement around this event, and the many local summits held in the weeks prior, it was still an eye-opener to be there. Was Australia finally coming of age and valuing ideas? And was government in Australia finally responding to the concerns, passions and views of the Australian community? I’m still asking myself these questions, but the very fact I’m able to ask them suggests the tantalizing possibility of major change leading up to 2020. Other things struck me as I began my Summit experience. How glitzy and organized it all was. This was a major media show, choreographed and organized to the smallest detail, but designed to provide delegates with maximum information and discussion opportunities. From the guides meeting us at the airport, to the colour-coded stream badges and seating arrangements, the fleet of shuttle buses transporting delegates between venues and the 240 volunteers ushering us through a complex program of individual, sub group, stream plenary and major plenary exercises, the event was meticulously scripted and recorded. The official Summit program was packed with background papers and feedback reports from the schools summits and youth summit. Facilitators gave summary reports on public submissions and experts gave 10 minute mini-lectures, such as the one I attended on food security. It all combined to form a seamless and utterly energizing experience. VU was represented at the 2020 summit by the VU Vice-Chancellor Professor Elizabeth Harman, VU Community Partnerships Officer Elleni Bereded, University Council member Ken Loughnan, and myself. I traveled with my colleague Elleni, and after registering at Prime Minister and Cabinet, we decided to catch the last half hour of the pre-conference reception. At the old Parliament House (now the National Portrait Gallery), we felt the excitement and buzz. I’ve never seen a crowd chattering so excitedly. People everywhere seemed to be buoyed by a mood of anticipation, excitement and conviviality. This lasted all weekend long. By late Saturday night, I was speculating when the batteries would run down and delegates would finally disperse. We’d had the opening ceremony at Parliament House, the large plenary address by the Prime Minister and the Governor-General, the workshop discussions all day, then the reception between 6.00 and 7.30 pm in the Great Hall, followed by dinner at various venues (my stream’s was held at the National Gallery), followed by a visit to the National Press Club. By 11 pm I was wondering how people could still go on speaking non-stop, when my own motor mouth finally ran out of battery power and I called for a taxi back to the hotel. Back at Parliament House at 7.30 am, I had my boxed breakfast with a fascinating group of climate change experts. This gave me the opportunity to put my own big idea about dramatically reducing fuel consumption across industries by mandating a percentage of workers to work at home two days a week. I was chuffed that an environmental scientist said the idea ‘had merit’. I then wandered around in search of other networking opportunities before the official opening at 9 am. In the course of my wanderings, I encountered government ministers, ex-premiers, farmers and community activists, all of them definitely worth a chat. The Sunday plenary in the great hall was held on an iridescent stage lit with fancy multi-coloured lights – much like the dance floors where I spent many nights in my youth. After a short kufuffle caused by the Northern Territory delegate I’d met at breakfast (he was protesting about his lack of voice at the Summit), the panel discussion took place, again recorded for national television. I was very pleased that Elleni, one of the speakers, raised issues of asylum seekers and the treatment of indigenous people. At this point, I began to muse whether the conference should have had a separate stream on the detailed issues of human rights in Australia, which could have encompassed discussion of labour rights, immigration, multiculturalism, homosexuality and much more. Soon after, we broke into small working groups again. Some were getting bogged down in semantics, others were desperately seeking consensus in time to have their outputs recorded by midday. We’d heard an army of scribes had been slaving throughout the night to produce the Summit outcomes document, to be released to the media at 1.30 pm. After lunch, the 1000 plenary reconvened in the Great Hall to hear the ten stream chairs and co-chairs present our work to us in 5 minutes per stream. Then we heard the Prime Minister’s detailed response to the ideas and recommendations. It was very exhilarating and surreal. For once, the talk of collaborative open government seemed a real possibility. On the way out of the Summit, at 3.30 pm, each delegate received their 34 page printed summary of the key outcomes of the Summit. Back to the airport, where delegates streamed around airport gates, still chatting. I noticed one of the facilitators looking very weary as she folded herself into a chair to wait for a plane. It had been an amazing weekend. And I continue to be amazed, as I hear the government’s positive reactions after the Summit, to some recommendations, and the media debate about how they might be implemented. I’m proud and humbled to have been part of this experience. Assoc Professor Santina Bertone Associate Dean (Research & Research Training) For any further information, please contact:
Last reviewed:
28/04/2008
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Copyright © 2007 VU. CRICOS Provider No.00124K.
