Social impact – if you could wave a magic wand what would you fix?

I work in the social impact space and I am appreciating participating in peer learning groups, being exposed to new stimuli and having opportunities to reflect and reset..

Inspirational speaker panel- How awesome are peer learning groups, being exposed to new stimuli and having opportunities to reflect and reset.. 

A fortnight ago I had a 30 min zoom call with some-one who asked me some great questions including what success looks like for me.

After a fortnight of:

• Workshopping and journaling the issues
• Expanding my tribe of people with a shared purpose
• Having some “in real life” (IRL) conversations with others doing great stuff The BEATS | Biodiversity Endangered and Threatened Species and Planting Seeds
• Participating in a McKinsey Mission Delivery for CEOs & Executives workshop
• Listening to stories about successful alliances working together for the greater good (e.g. Foodbank, OzHarvest and Second Bite Partnership)
• Participating in a brilliant political advocacy workshop facilitated by CANA

I am confident I now have a lot more clarity on what the 5 pillars for success looks like for me underpinned by the 5^th pillar

1. A fit for purpose education system that prepares young people for the reality of work and supports them to thrive in life
2. A fit for purpose agricultural workforce strategy and roadmap
3. Clear Pathways to get between  1 and 2
4. Agriculture fixes its social and environmental justice red flags
5. The agriculture sector connecting, collaborating, codesigning and creating success together

If success is a marathon not a sprint how far have, we travelled?

1. Excitingly we have travelled a significant distance to achieve No 1 – A fit for purpose education system that prepares young people for the reality of work and supports them to thrive in life.

Great examples include:

• Recognition of Learning Success for All
• Preparing Secondary Students for Work
• Career development learning for students from low socioeconomic status (LSES) backgrounds

The main roadblock to the finish line appears to be the focus on ATAR scores instead of the  The Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration which will require a significant culture change in schools and an attitude change by conversative politicians.

2. A fit for purpose agricultural workforce strategy and roadmap. The good news here is we have crossed the starting line.  The Action4Agriculture team look forward to having their Action4Youth initiative funded to experiment and see what works, what has potential and what we can park
3. Clear Pathways between 1 and 2. I am confident if funded Professor Felicity Blackstock can bring together a team of bright minds to make this vision a reality
4. Agriculture fixes its social and environmental justice red flags. We know what we need to do, building a critical mass to make it happen is another thing. We must focus on the huge cost of inaction on this one
5. The agriculture sector connecting, collaborating, codesigning and creating success together. This one is particularly close to my heart and I will continue to work with my tribe to celebrate the wins on this one – no matter how tiny

What are you optimistic about?