Building A Green Politics For The Next 25 Years

Old Parliament House, Canberra, Friday and Saturday, October 27-28, 2017

2017 marks 25 years since the federation of the Australian Greens – a quarter century in which the party has gone from being a fringe movement to an established political force making substantial impacts on the course of Australian history, improving people’s lives, and protecting the planet.

2017 also marks an extraordinary moment in history, as the political certainties, realities and possibilities which the party and the great majority of its members and supporters grew up in begin to melt into air.

The arrival of the climate crisis, sharply deepening inequality, the rise of the extreme right, and massively accelerating technological development make the next 25 years among the most pivotal in human history to date. If we don’t change direction dramatically, we face a future that is nasty, brutish and short. We have a very short window to turn this around and create a society that can not only survive but thrive.

It is clear that the Greens are the only party facing up to this challenge but also, like the broad global left, currently starkly unable to present and articulate a politics which is both popular and sufficiently radical to rise to the challenge.

Everything is Connected will bring together invited keynote speakers, academics, artists, as well as activists, members, supporters, and interested parties to discuss these vital questions, particular through the theme of connection – to each other, to politics, and to nature.

The key theme of the conference – connection to each other, to politics, and to nature – is informed and driven by what we believe to be the unique insight of Green politics, the idea that sets our politics apart from all others: ecology. Ecology teaches us that everything is connected, and that everything and everyone is better when we have connected diversity.

Program

The program is now available here.

Ticketing

A small number of bursaries will be available, to cover the cost of tickets and travel for young people, First Nations people, and people travelling from remote areas. Please email office@greeninstitute.org.au to inquire about these bursaries.

The ticket includes full access to the 2 day conference, October 27-28, 9am to 5pm, as well as access to the Friday night event, details of which are TBC.

Keynote speakers

We are delighted to have confirmed keynote addresses from:

• Dr Mary Graham – on Indigenous world views
• Prof Brendan Mackey – on ecology and the web of life
• Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics, via video link
• Dr Stephen Healy, co-author of Take Back the Economy: An Ethical Guide for Transforming our Communities

Additional speakers (in no particular order) include:
Ellen Broad, Felicity Ruby, Georgia Miller, Penny Kyburz, Margaret Blakers, Dr Nicole Rogers, Jana Norman, Tammy Milne, Mike Dowson, Joan Staples, Sue Lewis, Tim Lo Surdo, Lidia Thorpe, Dr Rachael Jacobs, Rosanne Bersten, Anna Schlunke, John Hawkins, Ursula Rakova, Clare Ozich, Simon Copland, Stephen Healy, Philip Sutton, Bryony Edwards, Jim Buckell, Kathleen Maltzahn, Janet Rice, Giz Watson, Deb Foskey, Lisa Arnaud, Dr Rod Lamberts, Dr Benedetta Brevini, Julie Macken, Mark Chenery, Dr Sue Wareham, Felicity Gray, Joshua Wyndham-Kidd, Dr Adam Broinowski, Hui Zhou, Mukhtar Mohammed, Kathleen Maltzahn, Eva Cox, Dr Ben Spies-Butcher, Dr Elise Klein, Chris Twomey, Dr Jason Byrne, Professor Marcus Foth, Nilmini de Silva, Steven Liaros, Maiy Azize and Holly Hammond.

Accommodation

We have put together a selection of accommodation options, from YHA to fancy hotel to billeting. You can find a few options here.

Call for papers

The call for papers is now closed.