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Healthy Ageing

Wed, 01/07/2009 - 14:01 — Site Administrator

If only we could all die young, but at a very old age.

In the midst of winter, when it is that little bit harder to go for a walk in the morning and that whole lot more tempting to spend the evenings snuggled on the couch watching a DVD with tea and tim-tams, July is the perfect month to promote Healthy Ageing as our featured 'Topic of the Month' here on Open Forum.

Healthy Ageing isn't about feeling inadequate because you're 50 and you don't have pecs like Madonna. Healthy Ageing is about promoting ongoing physical and psychological wellness to live the best life possible. And remember, you're never too young to begin.

Healthy Ageing concerns us all, whether as individuals, children of ageing parents, or parents of growing kids; indeed it's a vital issue for Australia as a whole.

Better Regulation Choices

Tue, 03/11/2009 - 14:24 — Site Administrator

What happens after the COAG regulation 'hotspots' agenda? What role is there for codes, standards and charters as alternatives to detailed, black-letter regulation?

Throughout November 2009, with the support of Standards Australia, Better Regulation Choices is Open Forum’s Topic of the Month. It should explore the regulatory spectrum from self-regulation to black-letter law and everything in between.
  • Better regulation - What do we mean by this? How far has the COAG regulatory agenda taken us towards better regulation? What happens next?
  • Dimensions of choice - What regulatory options exist? What lessons can we learn from existing cases? Who wins and loses from different regulatory approaches?
  • Global perspective/new frontiers - How can better regulation extend across national boundaries? How can the quality of regulation be improved by new ways of consulting?
A comprehensive Issues Paper provides a framework for this online discussion. Download the Issues Paper from the Standards Australia website here.
 
To participate, simply follow the links below to read the related blogs, login to leave a comment, or email us your own contribution or contributor suggestion to srose@openforum.com.au or phone +61 2 8303 2430.

Exciting Careers in IT

Tue, 09/12/2008 - 09:07 — Site Administrator

On 25 November 2008, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Faculty of Engineering and Information, Industry Advisory Network supported by the Australian Computer Society (ACS) Foundation and ACS NSW held a breakfast forum where members of the industry got together with students, academics and other key stakeholders to discuss the ICT skills shortage.

"I.T. is exciting! Why don't young people know that?" That was the question on the day, and that will be the subject of a report being prepared for release in 2009.

Following the lively and articulate debate on the day, ACS Foundation and Open Forum decided to co-host this online forum

EXCITING CAREERS IN I.T.

until January 31, 2009, to provide you with an extended opportunity to collaborate by contributing your ideas, thoughts, comments or suggestions to be included in the report.

Global Connections: A study of multinational companies in Sydney

Fri, 02/10/2009 - 12:54 — Site Administrator

Understanding how Sydney features in the strategies, organisation and location decisions of multinational corporations is critical for governments, multi-national companies and resident firms alike.  

In 2009, The Australian Business Foundation released the report "Global Connections: A study of multinational companies in Sydney". Its findings have some massive implications for the future innovation and prosperity of NSW and Australia.

Open Forum and the Australian Business Foundation are launching this online forum as a space to invite some of the thought leaders in this area to share their ideas about the report and how we can learn from the lessons it provides.

Log in below and post your comments in response to the questions posed on this forum. Follow the links below to read the related blogs and articles. Write your own blog. If you are new to blogging, check out our Top 10 Blogging Tips for a headstart or contact srose@openforum.com.au.

Managing Spatial Data

Fri, 31/07/2009 - 12:32 — Site Administrator

To the uninitiated, it can sound complicated and technical, but spatial data is part of everyday life. Mobile phones, eTags, credit card statements, Facebook profiles and the humble postcode all contain important personal spatial information. 

Since our 2008 online forum on Spatial Data, spatial has been making the headlines. Google’s bushfire map mashup and the Victorian Country Fire Service’s RSS feed during the 2009 Victorian bushfires are great examples of open spatial information in action. However, how much public information governments can and should make available for such mashups is a topic of hot debate.  

Currently one of the key areas of interest for the Federal Government 2.0 Taskforce is to examine the possibilities of making government data more open. This presents a number of interesting questions about how individuals as well as organisations from the public and private sectors manage spatial data.

Please share your views on the issue by completing our short survey "What does Spatial Information mean to you?" or joining this forum as a commentator.

International Voices

Tue, 01/09/2009 - 12:51 — Site Administrator

As a platform for citizen journalists, Open Forum features the stories which are in large part responsive to the issues you write in to tell us you care about. It is surprising that over the last twelve months we have not received one single contribution that dealt with Australia’s foreign policies or military engagement in Iraq or Afghanistan.

If there was ever an area of government expenditure and public policy debate we expected to incite some passions -  Iraq was it.

During September, Open Forum will be showcasing International Voices. Expect perspectives on some of the big issues affecting our neighbours, bloggers from around the globe, and articles from foreign citizens living in Australia.

As Murdoch pushes ahead with plans to charge for online content, the consumers' role in the demand and supply chain of financing “content” is about to shift towards a more explicit responsibility.

For a multicultural society such as Australia, in the age of the internet, is there really any excuse for not including opinions and news from around the world in our media diet? International Voices are all around us, if only we make the effort to hear them.