Translating ideas into action: Carlton Connect

When we think about some of the challenges the world is facing today, and will face over the next century, it’s easy to look at them as being too big, too complex and too overwhelming to tackle.

For instance, the United Nations (UN) predicts that by 2030, the demand for food will be 60 per cent higher than in 2012. Population growth, agriculture, urbanisation, and climate change also pose great challenges to the sustainable use and management of water.

Tackling these ‘grand challenges’ will require connections, collaboration and innovation across different academic disciplines, industry sectors, and levels of government. 

The Carlton Connect Initiative, led by the University Of Melbourne, is an ambitious strategy to unite talented people who share a desire to tackle some of our biggest sustainability and social resilience challenges, as well as a passion for designing new ideas and technologies to help secure Australia’s future.

From September 30-October 2, the Carlton Connect Conference (#14CCC) will bring together industry, government and academia to discuss how we can approach some of these grand challenges and the innovative and solution-driven partnerships required to solve them. 

Featuring keynote lectures, panel discussions and networking events, speakers and attendees at #14CCC will explore the grand challenge (as identified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2015-2030) of Sustainability and Resilience, and specific issues such as those relating to Food, Water, Energy, and Urban Futures. The conference will also consider the status of efforts to respond to climate change, as well as the opportunities and threats presented by pervasive information technologies. 

With speakers who are experts in their field from organisations such as the Climate Change Authority, Asian Development Bank, the United Nations and Victorian State Government, the conference will also look at the ways in which our ideas and technologies can be translated into action – the essence of that much over-used word, “innovation”.

The challenges to be examined at #14CCC do not respect traditional disciplinary and organisational boundaries. Therefore, in order to effect change, the Carlton Connect Initiative seeks to foster a collaborative approach, connecting people across organisations, allowing each partner to focus on what they do best rather than expecting a single partner to do everything. This conference aims to bring together representatives of key organisations to continue the process of building such partnerships.

Early bird tickets to the conference are on sale until 12 September. For more information, a conference program and to register your place:

www.carltonconnect.com.au/conference