When: Tuesday 3 March, doors open 5:00pm for a 5:30pm start, finishing at 7:30pm
Where: Laneway Room 2, Rialto Intercontinental, 495 Collins Street Melbourne, and live streaming online
Join us for an innovative public event as part of the inaugural CPD Policy Exchange—a new event series designed to bring changemakers, experts, policymakers and community voices into genuine dialogue about practical policy reform.
Andrew Hudson will moderate the event, joined by Benjamin Perks, a senior leader for the United Nations in New York. A leading global advocate for children and prevention, and author of Trauma Proof, Ben’s lived experience of childhood trauma brings a powerful and distinctive perspective. He’ll be joined by Professor Sharon Goldfeld AM, paediatrician and public health expert specialising in prevention; and Rana Ebrahimi, a champion for the rights of refugee and migrant youth and an expert in social inclusion; and others. And importantly, we want to hear from you as part of the conversation.
At the heart of the event is a simple but important question: What would it take to make Australia the best place to be a child and raise a family?
We’ll explore practical approaches to reform; including the case for investing and acting early, how to build universal systems that support everyone while responding to different needs, and working more closely with communities so support reflects local challenges, strengths and opportunities. The focus will be on solutions that improve outcomes not only for children and families, but for communities, the economy and the country as a whole.
This will not be a traditional panel or lecture. The CPD Policy Exchange is designed to be genuinely participatory, with the audience treated as an active part of the discussion rather than passive observers. Before and during the event, attendees will be invited to share their perspectives, respond to key questions, suggest areas for discussion, and put questions directly to the panel. Contributions from the room will help shape the conversation in real time, drawing on the diverse expertise, experience and insights of participants.
The aim is not just to diagnose problems, but to test ideas, identify areas of agreement, and build momentum around practical policy solutions that can help government systems work earlier, work better, and work more closely with families and communities.
