Overview
The AusForesight Futures Workshop for Business, Government and Community Leaders will be held over two days in February 2008.
Overview
Look out! Here comes the future….
Climate change; pandemics, obesity; decreasing attention spans in young people, terrorism, technology and its increasing impacts, the rise of China and India as economic powers, the decline of oil as a primary energy source, changes in family dynamics, and the impact of debt and interest rates on living standards…. all of these conspire to create potential futures brimming with uncertainty and opportunity for considered decisions and actions.
Flight or fight?
Daily business routines totally absorb most of us most of the time.. It’s hard to lift our gaze from our next footstep, to take a longer view. And of course the future affects us in different ways depending on who we are and what we are trying to do.
Change is rapid, widespread, far-reaching and often surprising. And every day it seems to come at us even faster.
In the last half-century, governments world-wide have increased their role as change agents while at the same time claiming or acting to take less responsibility in the economic direction setting [regulation, tax, market forces]. There is a growing demand for government to act with foresight.
The business community has been relatively quiet about its collective views on foresight and the future. But its members have a point of view.
It is time to voice it – together. This is Your chance to have your voice augmented by voices of others who, like you, see the potential for making a difference and feel that not enough serious attention is given to the opportunities and threats.
If you see things that will need fixing if we are to adapt to the future, as well as things we can do to help create a better world -- come and talk about it!
How can government(s) provide effective leadership for innovation and growth unless the voice of the business community is made known? And if the voice is communicated, will government listen? Chances are that a collective message will be!
At the conclusion of the AusForesight futures workshop we will create a communiqué to government in Australia outlining what the business community wants it to do about the future.
With a focus on the key business sectors, the AusForesight futures workshop gives people in business the opportunity to create a mediated response to the major challenges facing business in Australia in the future. The frame is based on challenges over the next five years, but seen through the lens of changes in the operating environment over the next 20.
As a key input into the conference, AusForesight is running an interview process with CEOs in Australia with its media partners. The process will be built around such questions as:
- What would you do if you were Prime Minister for a day?
- What are the five major broad context challenges you face?
- What if any future related issues keep you awake at night?
- What should Australia do to ensure business continuity and competitiveness?
- What’s happening overseas that should be done here?
This two-day conference is workshop-based with plenty of opportunities for co-creating ideas that will shape the communiqué to governments. It will also have great input from speakers and futures practitioners to help us leverage the ‘raw data’ into compelling content.
Take this opportunity to make your mark in a national and independent call to action aimed at Federal & State Governments in Australia.
adjust text size:.
