A globalised student voice

Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Melbourne Globalist Nicholas Fabbri’s interest in current affairs is clear. Having recently returned from a language course in Guatemala, he and fellow University of Melbourne student Nicholas Langford, Executive Director of The Melbourne Globalist are discussing the breaking news of the day. It’s a tradition developed over time, “We used to do school paper stuff together,” Mr Fabbri says. 

In his second year of studying for a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, Mr Fabbri is passionate about engaging the youth of today to explore issues that mean a lot to them. 

Mr Fabbri aims to use The Melbourne Globalist as a vehicle for student engagement that will provide insight into international relations and contribute to debate, “I think it’s great to have something in common at university and at an intercollegiate level…It’s great to have something to converse about and have a beer over. Something to contribute to that’s bigger than yourself and your studies.”

Affiliated with the Globalist network of university publications across the world, including Yale University and The London School of Economics, The Melbourne Globalist is keen to carve its own niche. 

The publication’s first edition will be published by early June. Primarily based at the University of Melbourne it will also involove Monash University, La Trobe, RMIT and Deakin University. It has been structured this way to encourage “…a lot of intercollegiate interaction,” says Mr Fabbri. 

Both students believe in the value of travel to develop your world view. Having taken a gap year after completing Year 12, Mr Langford says the experience “…opened my eyes to the value of being able to engage with people from other ethnicities and cultures”. 

The Melbourne Globalist hopes to engage with other cultures by having a broad international focus. Topics to explore include politics and society, business and economics and human rights. 

These topics will be considered within an international paradigm, “…in terms of Australia’s role in the region. Looking at the bigger picture in terms of how it is significant for Australia,” Mr Langford says. 

Through programs such as Australia’s Role in the World, a partnership initiative the University is involved in, the magazine was able to gain an idea of how to have an international perspective but also maintain a strong focus on Australia, so that the question will be, “How can we look up at the world, but also think about Australia’s role in the world and what we can do in our region as a rising middle power,” Mr Fabbri says. 

The publication will use the general theme of Australia’s role in the world as the impetus for producing unique content, “We don’t mandate what sort of content we’d like…It’s really up to the writers to go out, find issues that matter to them and in an age where we’re inundated daily with data…enable writers to have that freedom but focus it in terms of making sense of that information themselves. Finding personal significance and reaching a contention that shows how they feel about it,” Mr Langford says. 

Most importantly, The Melbourne Globalist aims to not ‘water down’ its coverage of the important issues, “I think sometimes media can water down the issues then at the other end of the spectrum can have something that’s too academic and impenetrable. What we’re aiming for is an academic-journalistic hybrid where you’ve got the journalistic flair that’s engaging, but is also well-researched and balanced…” Mr Fabbri says. 

The editorial team also plans to extend the debate online by using social media channels to stimulate conversation and engagement, believing these channels will add new dimensions to the publication’s outreach, playing to the strengths and interests of its target youth audience. 

Ultimately, The Melbourne Globalist aims to cultivate student engagement and use the publication as a platform to connect students and encourage discussion with other universities at undergraduate and postgraduate level, “We really want to stress it’s not just about student engagement with the global issues, it’s more about connecting students and encouraging students to engage with one another….it’s about building relationships,” Mr Langford says. 

In these early stages, students’ enthusiastic reception of The Melbourne Globalist demonstrates a high level of interest in contributing to the debate, “people wanted a means to express their ideas of these international issues,” Mr Fabbri says. 

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