There was a ton of thought-provoking content at the Social Impact Summit, which I attended in Sydney a few weeks back. The Summit gathered leaders, activists, and innovators from various sectors, all united by a common goal: to create meaningful, sustainable change in our communities and beyond. However, one talk that stuck in my mind not just because it was delivered by that rare beast, a half-decent Australian footballer.
Craig Foster AM's opening speech was a powerful call to action, emphasising the need for collective efforts to address social inequities and foster a more inclusive society. Exactly what ICON’s social and behaviour change division, The Change Collective, sets out to achieve.
Foster’s address set the tone for the Summit, urging participants to confront uncomfortable truths about social equity in Australia and engage in meaningful dialogue and collaboration.
Foster highlighted several key themes:
1. Collective Responsibility: He emphasised the importance of recognising our individual and collective roles in contributing to societal well-being. Foster challenged attendees to think beyond financial gains and consider their broader purpose and impact on society.
2. Embracing Discomfort: He urged the audience to get comfortable discussing uncomfortable topics, which is essential for driving real change. Foster stressed that respectful, yet confrontational discussions are necessary to challenge and change the status quo of social equity. There is an art to disagreeing agreeably.
3. Technological Impact: Foster addressed the dual-edged nature of technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI). He posed critical questions about whether AI will strengthen or strain social cohesion and how society can manage technological progress while maintaining inclusivity and unity.
4. Values-Driven Solutions: The speech underscored the need for aligning values to solve societal problems through innovative and profitable business models. Foster advocated for leveraging the power of business to drive social good, thereby creating sustainable and impactful change.
5. Social Equity and Multiculturalism: Foster questioned the reality of Australia as an equitable and genuinely multicultural society. This felt particularly pertinent for public discussion less than a year after the Voice referendum. He highlighted issues related to the equitable distribution of wealth and resources, gender equity, and the availability of opportunities for all Australians.
Overall, Craig Foster's opening address was a clarion call for unity, collaboration, and proactive engagement in addressing social challenges. His thought-provoking questions and insights set a powerful precedent for the discussions and sessions that followed at the Summit, inspiring attendees to commit to creating positive, lasting change in their communities and beyond. It was an impressive and rousing talk by a guy who was only previously known to me as some retro Socceroo from the Nineties.
By Patrick Ferguson, Director of Government Programs, ICON.
To talk with us about changing behaviour, for good, contact us here or call Mat Crompton from the Change Collective on 0400 714 759.