To inspire new thinking and discussion about Australia’s place in the world

The 2010 Lowy Lecture:

Science and Australia’s place in the world18 November 2010 7:30 PM On Thursday 18 November, Dr Megan Clark, Chief Executive of CSIRO, delivered the 2010 Lowy Lecture on Australia in the World.  In her lecture, ‘Science and Australia’s place in the world’, Dr Clark argued that Australia’s science and innovation capability are fundamental to our future as a nation and our place in the world.

To listen to this enlightening lecture put this link into your URL http://lowyinstitute.richmedia-server.com/sound/2010_Lowy_Lecture.mp3 click to listen or subscribe to the Lowy Institute in iTunes

About The Lowy Institute

It is an independent international policy think tank. Its objective is to generate new ideas and dialogue on international developments and Australia’s role in the world. Its mandate is broad. It ranges across all the dimensions of international policy debate in Australia – economic, political and strategic – and it is not limited to a particular geographic region.

The Institute has two core tasks:

To produce distinctive research and fresh policy options for Australia’s international policy.
The Institute seeks to throw fresh light on issues of relevance to Australia through rigorous research, and then to generate workable policy ideas. The Institute also seeks to contribute to the wider international debate. We believe Australia can make a significant contribution to the global dialogue.

To promote wide discussion of Australia’s role in the world.
This is the Institute’s other vital task: to provide an accessible and high quality forum for discussion of Australian foreign policy and international relations, through debates, seminars, lectures, dialogues and conferences.

The Institute was established in April 2003 as the result of a gift by Mr Frank Lowy AC, one of Australia’s leading businessmen, to mark the 50th anniversary of his arrival in Australia.

The Institute is non-partisan and is home to a range of policy ideas. Its staff and Fellows speak with individual voices.

The Institute draws on the insights and experience of policy practitioners, academic experts and business people. It also seeks to bring new voices and external viewpoints into the Australian debate, for example through an active program of internships for young people and the involvement of members of the Australian diasporia.

For other lectures and talks http://www.lowyinstitute.org/

Recently I managed to hear the end of a talk given by Jon Bird CEO of IdeaWorks. He had collected some of the latest retail ideas from around the world. Below is his blog post about inspiring retailing in Japan. This promoted me to read his blogs. See an example of one below.

The Future of Retail is already here

by Jon Bird on June 28, 2010

“The future is already here. It’s just not very evenly distributed.”

So said science fiction author William Gibson. And he could have been talking about retail.

On the recent Westfield World Retail Study Tour, our first stop was Tokyo. And after spending a couple of days there listening to experts, and visiting stores and malls, it occurred to me that Japan provides a pretty useful crystal ball on where retail is headed in Australia.

One significant reason is Japan’s aging (and shrinking) population. Around 22 per cent of all Japanese are aged 65+ (including one in four of all women), while about 13 per cent of Australians are at retirement age or older. We’ll reach Japan’s percentage of oldies around the middle of the century according to the ABS. (As an interesting aside, Japan’s population is declining so rapidly that one pundit quipped that if current trends continued, by 2250 only 1000 people would be left!).

Changing demographics drive a different retail mix. At the Aeon mall outside of Tokyo, we saw a precinct called ‘HAL’ = “Happy Aging Life” Solutions. Amongst a number of retailers there, the Hal area contained a contact lens shop called Eyecity, an Anti-Aging Mall filled with masseurs and physiotherapists, an ASICS Walking Store and a Nana’s Green Tea shop.

We will also need to think about more appropriate retail offers for an older Australian consumer. (And as observation researcher Paco Underhill often observes, we’ll need to make sure that the price tickets in store have type big enough for them to read!).

An aging population means fewer children. So the Japanese fill the void with pets and they pamper them like no other race on earth. Hence in the same Aeon mall, we saw a 1500sqm space devoted to animals. There you could purchase any number of pet services, from pet grooming to a hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment (I kid you not), plus innumerable products like pet handbags (Paris Hilton-style) and pet strollers. The concierge and deli in ‘Pecos Pet City’ were of the standard you’d see in five star hotels, except they were dedicated to dogs. Watch this space – we will see this trend emerge in Australia, and sooner than you think.

Smaller households also result in different product requirements. In one supermarket we saw that customers were not forced to buy a whole loaf of bread; they could if they wanted buy two-slice packages. That’s convenient and smart.

While on the subject of nourishment, the Japanese are highly concerned about food safety and security. Hence you see tactics like “QR codes” on fresh produce in supermarkets, which when scanned by a mobile phone take the customer to a website detailing exactly where and how the food was grown. As the environment deteriorates and the global population grows, we too will become more interested in the source and state of the food we eat.

The way that the Japanese embrace technology also provides a window into the future. McDonald’s Japan has 17 million registers of a system called “Edy” (an acronym for Euro Dollar Yen), which allows customers to pay for their order just by tapping their phone against a terminal. Watch traditional wallets disappear in Australia over the next five years.

Add to all this the number of cutting edge retail fit-outs you see in Japan today, that will filter through to Australia tomorrow, and a visit to the Land of the Rising Sun is incredibly worthwhile. It’s the future. And it’s only a 10 hour flight away.

* Jon Bird is CEO of specialist retail marketing agency, IdeaWorks (www.ideaworks.com.au).

Email jon.bird@ideaworks.com.au.

http://www.insideretailing.com.au/Latest/tabid/53/articleType/CategoryView/categoryId/75/Jon-Bird.aspx

Writing copy that attracts people to read it is one of our new big challenges.

With so much interesting content around- what makes you stop* read* think* and act? Does anything any more?

Expert fundraising copywriter Jill Ruchel ruminates.

In 2008 I was lucky enough to spend a splendid evening visiting the wonderful Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Sydney, a display of some 150 sculptures carefully placed along the glorious cliff walk from Tamarama to Bondi.

I had been thinking a good deal about the current world financial crisis and what it meant for fundraising, when I saw the winning sculpture.

Created by Mark McLelland, it was a large block of steel, perhaps two and a half metres high, with a key shaped space in the middle. But the space ran horizontally, creating a fabulous tension between the pressing weight above it and the bulk below, like a roiling emptiness of energy.

In that moment, what struck me was that what was important in dealing with fundraising in a recession or financial crisis is not what is happening – it’s what’s missing.

Tough times are the perfect time to do something innovative, something that hasn’t been done before, or hasn’t been done that way.

It’s like the old adage – if you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always got.

When you think about it, being bold and being fresh is important all the time. Anyone can copy what you do, but if they can’t compete with you for boldness, ideas and initiative, they’ll always be followers and never leaders.

So don’t be afraid to try something new. It might not work. It might turn out to be wrong. But it might succeed fabulously. Either way you get an outcome, you’re sure to learn something. And it’s always better to do something than nothing.

www.praxisfundraising.com.au

How do we learn these days? This is how our book club does it . . . it is hard to define what is learning and what is entertainment . One thing is certain it feels good, is stimulating and USEFUL.

From Jill Ruchel when she got back home to Melbourne.

“We had a great book club last night.

We discussed ‘The World Cafe’. Some of us hadn’t read it at all, none of us had read all of it, most of us had read parts or skimmed it. The interesting thing was the fundamental idea – how you can create conversations that involve and inspire many people using a cafe style model; sitting around small cafe tables, butchers paper at the ready, ready to listen effectively, take responsibility for the conversation, participate and contribute. For me the most useful chapter was that on questions and how to form questions that will open rather than close conversations (much more than just a simple ‘open questions’ model).

Gillian recounted using some of the methods at her work – asking each of her staff to come prepared with a 3-4 minute presentation on a specific area of social media. The result was extraordinary – people were inspired and energised. It changed the whole atmosphere of the place.

As usual the food was good and the company better. We evolved into looking at some of the online initiatives we have been taking, like Kate’s new Facebook page, Kate’s website in progress, (stemgifts.com.au) Gillian’s website, and Susie’s new website (yes Susie’s – we insisted that it was ready to launch and she didn’t have to wait any longer). That’s an achievement in a year! I was pleased to show a new website I am working on for a client, with a groovy little character who walks across the scene. Fun!

Susie and I had a great conversation about the information products she could create from her business, and Gillian and Kate pored over Kate’s new Facebook page, sharing tips and demonstrating new features.

We realised that there was much to be gained out of sharing what each other has learned. I can’t remember whether we finally decided on doing the book ‘Drive’ by Daniel Pink, or having our next session showing each other all our new online skills and achievements. 
A truly great evening. Hope you all can make the next one. Thanks again for the delicious dinner and the lovely venue’

* Frances was not there but this is her contribution “Just to add to the mix… here is an article on home pages – why they are not as important as we think they are”

http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-engagement/web-design-the-decline-of-the-homepage-007269.php?awt_l=IYwNF&awt_m=1fFzFxJmB4n0sm

* Bobbi who could not attend either as she is putting the finishing touches to her new website. I have seen it – and it is fabulous.

www.mahlabmedia.com.au

Having intelligent inspiring friends is just great. Anyone else have friends like mine?

Has anyone further feedback, ideas or other places to learn and be inspired?

The Connectnow Conference held in Sydney 7-9th April was great. Paulette & I went from Corban & Blair. We found it informative thought provoking with broad implications across all the social media platforms we use and interact with.

Exceptionally interesting were Darren Rowse@problogger (Australian) and Gary Vaynerchuk@garyvee (American). They stood out (others we good also) for their ideas, tenacity, passion and generosity. Both are worth having a look at.

We took away things like- know what your purpose and goals are, LISTEN and know what is happening out there, learn from the success of others, be useful, build a community- extend your community onto further platforms, be personal, tell stories, be unique, leverage what you have, craft your content, be transparent, be consistent and prolific -just get out there learn, adapt and improve as you develop and achieve your goals. Authenticity matters if you want a “real” community, as does transparency and the equity you can build into your brand.

This was just a snippet of the conference offerings.

If you have suggestions of other conferences, blogs, books, people we should look into let us know. Like most other successful creative businesses we are learning and making it up as we go.

Any wisdom you have to share would great. Just put it in the comment box and we will respond

See Connectnow.net.au for information on the other speakers.