Abstract

Leading up to the Australia Davos Future Summit, some of Australia's best and brightest convened at Melbourne Business School for a two day workshop (February 14-15, 2006) on the futures of Australian identity. Organized by Paul Hameister of the Future Summit, hosted by Dr. Robert Burke of Mt Eliza Centre for Executive Education and facilitated by Professor Sohail Inayatullah, the workshop explored and developed scenarios of the futures of Australian identity. Globalization, demographic changes, perceptions of loss of safety because of world terrorism, challenges to multiculturalism, demographic shifts, the possibility of pandemics, and dramatic new genomic, nano-technology, energy, surveillance, brain/mind technologies – all portend a disturbed world, a world in flux. What will happen to Australian identity? Can it transform, will new identities emerge, asked participants?