 So, just to close out today's session, I would like to introduce to the stage Aidan Wyatt, our Acting Assistant Secretary from the Global Programs and Partnerships Branch at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Trevor Goddard, who's Principal Director at Goddards and Associates, and Trevor is also a big supporter of the NTP and was also one of the members of our first-ever NTP reference group. Thanks, Aidan. Well, good afternoon, everyone. An inspiring panel, and for us, a hard act to follow. Thanks very much, Rachel, for that warm welcome. As Rachel mentioned, my name's Aidan Wyatt. I'm the Acting Assistant Secretary for our Global Programs and Partnerships Branch, of which an important key flagship program within the branch is the New Colombo Plan. And so, you know, just very privileged today to spend the day sort of discussing it. Let me begin by acknowledging the Nanawol people, the traditional custodians on the land at which we meet today, and pay my respects to Elders, Past, Present and Emerging, and I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today. Well, it's really been a remarkable day today. I mean, we've had really just an amazing diversity in discussion, and it really, I think it really signals how motivated the committee is to really keep moving forward and heading out into the world as our international borders open. It also really signals the tremendous amount of thought, leadership and innovation of the ideas in the NCP community, whether it be from our outgoing scholars, or our engaged and ever-growing body of alumni. There are so many fascinating projects at play that we've heard from today. I think the hardest part, you'd agree, is really choosing which many panels to join today. Before I go any further, let me introduce my co-presenter, Trevor Goddard. Trevor advises government, industry and education providers on the design of international diplomacy programs, and is an honorary fellow with the Deakin University Faculty of Arts and Education. For many of you, Trevor is a well-known face to the New Colombo Plan, appointed to the DFAT New Colombo Plan Reference Group across 2014 to 2020, and he continues to consult to a range of scholarship providers and organisations across Europe, Asia and the Americas. So to kick things off today, Trevor, I'd invite you to reflect on the highlight of the day for you. Thanks, Aidan. Just firstly, it's appropriate, again, in light of not simply the last session, but the spirit with which we bring to the summit. I'd also like to acknowledge elders past and present and emerging leaders and pay my respects to any Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander members who are with us today. It's important, not simply just at this summit, but it's an important part of our growth journey in acknowledging the role and the significance that those communities have played, continue to play, and will play forever and ever in a day, the way that we integrate into the region. And so I use that not only as a transition from that session, but a way just to thank Willie Gower and Joy, particularly, and Jordan, for sharing your lived and honest and personal experiences with us. Because I think for me, what has come out across today is the importance of narrative and stories that go along with helping people understand who we are. It's my absolute privilege to have been here today, and I've come here this morning in the spirit of learning myself. There are many, many talented individuals in the room, people who have gone, who are yet to go, and we are all learning together. So with that in mind, coming back to Aidan's question, I think Secretary Campbell, in her opening address, with respect to her and her role, probably underestimated the significance of both her department and also her staff in Rod and Aidan in the program that they lead, the New Colombo Plan, by referring to it as a framework. I think, yes, it's a framework, but what a stellar framework giving you an opportunity to cement Australia's position in the region. So that commentary certainly stuck with me as a first shaper. The highlight, perhaps then, was in the panel discussion, and I want to touch briefly for me on comments made by each of the four panelists that I think set a tone or a theme for the rest of the day in no particular order with respect to the well-learned colleagues. I could sit and listen to Elena Williams speak all day. And her passion for languages is unsurpassed. And what I think was most insightful about Elena's address this morning was not simply languages are a way of connecting because that's how you understand people, but she elevates that into the policy space. And nothing will change unless we, as an NCP community, choose to use the wonderful position of privilege that we have by being here to advocate for policy change around language. So again, I thank Elena for continually bringing and promoting that platform. Doug Ferguson, amongst the 6Ds, the notion of disruption and digital, I think, were both incredibly important. And I'll come back to those in some other discussion that Aidan and I might have. But it came up in one of the last sessions as a megatrend. So I think disruption and digital are very, very clearly things that are going to guide us. And John Wellard from Universities Australia, the element of universities being communities. I think one of the underutilized, so we do a good job, we could do a better job, is to actually tap into the way that the university sector connects with this experience. Not simply across your international mobility experience, but in research and industry partnerships. My kicker for the day absolutely is from Ambassador Clark, that nothing about us without us hashtag, for me, underpins everything that this program is about. One of the things I would like to see us progress towards is a deeper, more enriched engagement with our partners across the region. So her focus on that point really is a test to us all over the next 10, 15 years to bring the regional partners more deliberately into discussions like this. Thanks very much for those insights. Trevor, and I'm sure everyone in the audience would agree it was a really rich discussion from the panel. I think from my side I was really impressed and obviously a distinct part of today's summit was the series of sessions led by NCP alumni in particular. So a few takeaways that I would share. Firstly, Evie Packett and Joel Canaway on their experiences in Fiji and in Philippines and working through GHD in our business session. I think what that really sort of drew out as well is both the opportunities from a private and business perspective, but also their work in international development in the region. And recognizing some of the, I think some of the trends they talked about, that the future of economic growth really is in the Indo-Pacific and particularly in Southeast Asia. And so when we're talking about tackling issues like climate resilience and decarbonisation of economies, you know, there's just so many sort of multiple interests in terms of Australia's sort of engagement there. I think not to be outdone by Doug Sixties. Joel I think spoke about the four C's in his and gave some examples around just again touching on the complexity and cultural difference sort of in working in different contexts and we really can't take that one-size-fits-all approach. Evie also spoke about the cross-disciplinary skills and I think that multidisciplinary sort of theme really I was struck by that coming out in a range of issues. And I think as we know sort of looking ahead to 2030, some of the big issues in a really contested region and things like the future of work are going to really require that kind of cross-set of skills and approaches. It was also really great to hear, I think some of the diverse perspectives in the youth dialogue and diplomacy agenda, particularly the level of commitment I was struck by alumni sort of leading a range of different sort of youth exchange and leadership programs from India to Indonesia, Japan, Korea, China. It was just a really insightful group. And again, Bayan Yazadi, I think in one of those forums, really urged us to reflect on the role of youth diplomacy, particularly beyond what we often think about, I think in soft power, particularly to think about what are the unique Australian values and our identity that we can bring into the region. I think that goes back also to the ambassador for women and girls around gender equality too. Really terrific to join the discussion with Adam Higates and Rachel Spackman on inclusive education. I think that really reminded us both of, I guess the immense challenges to education systems and for children, for boys and girls. And many of those have obviously been accelerated by COVID, but also a call to action for NCP scholars and alumnads about how we can really make inroads and achieve impacts in countries like Fiji and Timolest, both in terms of working with and alongside local partners. So in terms of looking to out to the pathways for NCP out to 2030, Trevor, in your view, where to next for the NCP? Great question. And I'm sure there's a variety of views. So I'll just preface by saying, again, I feel mildly, not uncomfortable, but privileged that I have this opportunity to speak on your behalf. If there's other things that you see, maybe there's a time for a question or I'm happy to discuss afterwards. I think you have all inspired each other and what I've seen across the day is just some incredibly enlightened conversations that give me a great sense of faith that you understand that you are the future of the program. As the secretary said, there's a framework there and it's your responsibility to build the ships, the planes, the mechanisms to actually pursue the agendas that you are also clearly passionate about. So I think one for me that has come through as a theme right throughout the day is the power and the influence of young people. And I mean that very genuinely, that the rise in youth advocacy, the formalization of some of the professional organizations that you're putting together, the organizations that you're running at 19, 20, 21 years of age, inspire many people who are working alongside you. So I think the capacity to continue those, because they do two things. They show that NCP is both a means and an endpoint. So it's an endpoint in terms of you having completed a scholarship, but it's actually a start to the rest of your career. A colleague made a comment earlier today that even when you've got here now before you've been anywhere, your scholarship started even before you put your application in. And I would endorse that. One of the wonderful things about NCP is that it's almost a philosophical commitment to undertake some form of deep regional engagement. And I've seen and heard and witnessed that across today. So I think the first thing would be just the very passionate commitment of youth, both through your education programs, your commitment to community and your commitment to supporting each other is something to be proud of and to never let lose. Support the next groups coming behind you. Thanks very much for that, Trevor. Reflecting on a few themes that again I think touched on, particularly in the panel discussions this morning, but again across the course of the day. I think one is the sort of looking at the kind of types of fields of study. And again, I think as we discussed, there's going to be obviously a continued focus on fields in areas like STEM, for example, in healthcare, health security, but also there's a role to continue to champion those, I guess, less prominent fields in terms of our international engagement, sort of in terms of the arts and creative industries, in terms of creating those new connections in the region. An obvious one I think we reflected on this morning, obviously, is that COVID and the impacts, the long tail from COVID is going to be with us for some time into the future. So again, the role for NCP in terms of driving that social and economic kind of recovery in the region, again, is I think going to be a significant focus. And then finally, I guess there's also reflections on I guess the innovations in how we connect. I think everyone agree it's fabulous for us as a group to be here in person today, but I think there are also some excellent work that's been done through the program in terms of its virtual delivery and adapting over the last two years. And there are certainly sort of lessons and reflections from that that we can build into programs going into the future. Any further reflection? Final reflections, Trevor, that you have before. In terms of time, we've probably also got a little bit of time for some questions if there are any in the audience. Sure. Just to pick up, I made mention of Doug's reference to digitalization and the disruption. I view the disruption as a positive thing. And certainly, there's been great examples in some programs picking up on the virtual delivery that has got through COVID. But the learning from that is actually now how to build hybrid programs and take that development one step further to allow more people to have a new Colombo plan experience. I think it opens up for me two elements that again have come up today. One is the geopolitical environment. And so there's an importance in what you're doing in being out, being people in country and not only representing your professions, your careers, and Australia, but also the universities that you come from. And so my view of where the next steps come from is to have a higher degree of engagement. And it's the responsibility of all of us to engage our host partners, the host countries, the host universities, the corporate organizations, the NGOs that you go in in term with and actually bring them into this process. So I'd list that as a theme and at the risk of moving into my new show as an example, this has been, from my mind, such a wonderfully successful opportunity to get together and meet. It's very visceral. It's wonderful being in a room with people. The view here might be, how do you take this into the region? Or how do we bring people from the region to us to actually have a richer dialogue and bring the kaleidoscope of the region to make sure it's represented in the room as well? I think that's one step where we can actually go. Absolutely. We might just open up very briefly if there are any questions in the audience for Trevor in terms of our discussion before we round out the day. Yes? Sorry, can you hear? What sort of great question? What sort of disruption am I expecting? And thank you for putting the caveat around it. I do view it as a positive word. Nothing ever stays still. Disruption is a positive thing. Well, the first one I would give is if you look at the plethora of youth-based organisations. We have people that are now well-experienced in the setting up the delivery and the governance of small and large not-for-profit organisations, delivering services in the region, partnering with people in the region, bringing together thousands of people across the region. So they're already doing what programmes like the NCP are looking to do in the future. So rather than it being seen as a top-down element, there's an opportunity for some of those young people to in fact be the mentors and to lead and generate some of the way that the programme operates. I sat in the last session and I think if I get the numbers correctly talking about the growth in the ASEAN region to being 770 million people under 35 in 10 years' time. So the younger group of people are the significant proportion of the population. The opportunity to engage with that population through this programme, I think, is untapped. And I say that not as a criticism of where we are currently at, but the disruption to break open and have more influence across the region. So I think the higher education systems across the region still don't have the same access that we might like to understanding what an NCP scholar is, what they can do, and how they can engage with the region. We haven't yet got to how you might connect with some of your mobility colleagues as well. Is that... Great. Thank you. Great. I think we have time for at least one more question. We'll just go here. To form myself as well, how can we learn how to disrupt when sometimes burnout is real or when disability is a real? Thank you. I'm going to pause for 10 seconds. The question, how can you learn to disrupt when you're burnt out, when you've tried, when there doesn't appear to be a path forward? How can you be part of that disruption? I'll come back to a comment that we shared in the pre-departure session yesterday with some of the scholars. You don't know what you don't know. What was the second half of that statement? The answers in the room, right? So the answers are here. And not just here, the word room is a metaphor for, as Willie said, the broader world out there as well. So find the people who will advocate and disrupt with you. You don't need to disrupt on your own. You've got colleagues sitting here who want to back what you want to do. So I know that sounds perhaps simple and or cliched. I'm going to come back to the secretary's comment about framework. I think there's been a fan... DFAT have created a wonderful framework for you. It's your, my and our responsibility to use that framework together. So you're not doing it alone. Answer the gentleman in the front. Thank you. Trevor, your professional background is helping to find solutions for intractable problems. What advice would you give the scholars trying to tackle those types of issues in their programs? OK, the question was around how to find other people that can work with you to solve, resolve intractable problems. There, get that? So again, look outward, not inward. I think in your programs, some of the things that the NCP is encouraging you to do is, for example, reach out and undertake an internship in a space that sits slightly outside your technical expertise. Work alongside a project with someone else who's a scholar in your country who doesn't come from your background. Use the power and the influence of the 975 scholars who have come before you and tap into their expertise. Tap back into the expertise of the alumni of your institution or the NCP who have come before you. That's where that resource will come from. There is a plethora of what I might refer to as the NCP family. There are other organisations, a teachers for those of you going to Indonesia. Look at the youth-based organisations that run in regions or country-specific areas, chambers of commerce and industry. I'm going to keep coming back to the Secretary's words of framework. You have a privilege and a position that I still don't think many of you understand what has been given to you and how to use it, and that's okay. Don't feel bad where there are people here willing and wanting to help you do that. You have doors that will open for you by being an NCP scholar. Perhaps back to part of Aidan's question about where we might go in the future, looking at ways of changing the connectivity into overseas missions and other Australian representatives within the region. You can help uncover where and who they are, and then people can help you establish those. So I think don't be caught in the silos that Willie spoke about earlier, and that many of the universities will ask you to sit within. You can disrupt and break out of those, and no one is going to open that door for you. It's your responsibility to break that down. Thanks very much, Trevor, and so I'm going to leave it there with Trevor having the final word, and again, thank you for sharing those insights today. Please join me in... APPLAUSE I'd also just also like to, on behalf of my team in the department, more broadly, you know, thank all speakers and panellists and participants today for a really engaging summit. So thank you again, everyone.