An Island in Conversation

Over the past few months, I’ve been immersed in programming Island of Ideas for the University of Tasmania as part of the Community Engagement team. The brief was to design a series of around 20 free public talks to ignite curiosity and conversation across the community.

Guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the program brings together researchers, policymakers, industry leaders and community voices to explore the issues that matter most.

As the program’s been unfolding, I’ve kept returning to a simple question: In 2026, what does it mean to be an island in conversation with the world?

Tasmania is often seen as remote and somehow removed from global issues. Yet what’s increasingly clear is how global challenges are felt and responded to at a local level. Our researchers, industries and communities are already working together to create real change. Climate change, ageing populations, migration, artificial intelligence, the energy transition and biodiversity loss are not distant problems. They’re here, in our daily lives, and affecting communities across the state.

I’m excited to share the ideas, people and discoveries emerging from Tasmania - conversations on neurodiversity and justice reform, dementia care and ageing well, Antarctic tourism, and innovations in space exploration. We’re examining AI and productivity, renewable energy transition and regional resilience, social cohesion in a changing Tasmania, trust in an era of misinformation, and the importance of insects in sustaining ecosystems.

There is so much happening here and much to be proud of.

Connecting all of these ideas is another question; one that’s relevant to everyone, everywhere: How does collective responsibility lead to more sustainable futures?

What has felt most meaningful in leading this program is the collaboration behind it, across the University, its institutes, schools and public lecture committees; to the engagement with communities who are ready to be challenged, to learn, and to play a part in addressing the complex problems we’re all navigating together.

Find out more and join the conversation at Island of Ideas.