In late July I travelled to Australia (Sydney, Canberra and Perth), accompanied by the Foundation’s director of research and engagement Suzannah Jessep to meet with officials, academics, think tanks and counterpart organisations.
I try to get over the ditch every year to gauge where Australia stands on Asia issues. As well as discussing topics of mutual interest, these visits allow us to compare our respective research, looking at, for example, findings from the Foundation’s annual Perceptions of Asia survey alongside Australia’s Lowy Institute Poll.
Australia can often serve as a bellwether for New Zealand on important international relations issues, such as our trade and security interests and our engagement in the Pacific.
The purpose of this trip was to get a sense of how Australia is balancing its political, economic and security interests across Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific region.
You can read more about our Australia visit in my Stuff article, to be published this Monday.
Recognising up and coming leaders
I didn’t get to be there in person, but it was great to hear about the contribution Leadership Network members made at the recent Festival for the Future; an event the Foundation was a sponsor of.
The Foundation's Suzannah Jessep (far left) was part of a panel discussing inclusion and diversity
The festival, held in Wellington, was a chance for the Foundation to connect with emerging influencers, innovators and leaders and keep Asia at the forefront of their minds. We know that Asia is going to play an increasingly important role in the lives of New Zealanders – the challenge for the Foundation is ensuring young people are aware of this and have the skills and knowledge to take the opportunities Asia presents.
The Foundation ran four workshops and director of research and engagement Suzannah Jessep was on a panel that discussed inclusion and diversity, moderated by Leadership Network member Guled Mire.
Once again, members of our Leadership Network led from the front, delivering workshops, facilitating panel discussions and helping out at the Foundation’s stall. So, a big thanks to them; it’s encouraging to see talented young people so engaged and making sure they have a voice in the direction we take as a country.
Staff and Leadership Network members provided information on engaging with Asia at the Foundation stall
On the same weekend as Festival for the Future, I attended the Impact Awards, held in conjunction with the festival to celebrate New Zealand’s emerging leaders. Five Leadership Network members were nominated for awards with three being named finalists and Jacinta Gulasekharam awarded the Evolve Leadership Scholarship. Attending the awards gave me a chance to sit down with some of these emerging leaders and learn about the issues that inspire, challenge and concern them.
On that note (talented young people), there’s still time to nominate a young person (16-25 years of age) for our 25 to Watch initiative. 25 to Watch is our way a way of celebrating young people who are contributing to Asia-New Zealand relations.
On a personal note, I’d like to put in a plug for people to read musician Shayne Carter’s article about the residency he attended in Thailand with help from a Foundation/CreativeNZ arts grant. I’ve been a big fan of Carter’s since his Straitjacket Fits days in Dunedin, so was particularly pleased to see that our arts programme was able to support him in his latest endeavours.
Finally, I’d like to congratulate Foundation Honorary Adviser Mitchell Pham who was recently honoured by Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, for his contributions to the city’s high-tech sector. We’re grateful to have someone of Mitchell’s calibre to turn to for advice and support.
That’s all from me this month.
Noho ora mai
Simon Draper