A six-week long “Build Up” will kick off this week to help celebrate the launch of a new research Institute that focuses on Northern Australia and its neighbourhood of South-east Asia.
The Northern Institute at Charles Darwin University aims to bring together key thinkers, strategists, policy makers and scholars to address the priorities and challenges of the future.
The Northern Institute’s inaugural Director, Professor Daniela Stehlik, said the special calendar of events, known as “The Build Up”, includes conferences, workshops and art exhibitions, to mark the Institute launch on 7 October.
The “Build Up” is a celebration of the North and encompasses an integration of local, national and international activities,” she said.
Professor Stehlik said The Northern Institute offers national and international expertise in the social sciences, humanities, business, law and education, with a particular focus on social and public policy, and industry and community development.
“Over the past decade, regional Australia has become an important framework for understanding how our nation thinks, plans and makes decisions about its future,” she said.
“The challenges and opportunities of the wider region define the future of Australia and its engagement with our neighbours in South-east Asia, by virtue of our geography, population and resources.
“How our relationships with our neighbours will be shaped in the future will be at the forefront of the Institute’s dialogue and research agenda,” Professor Stehlik said.
She said the events held as part of the Build Up would represent some of the key priorities and challenges the Institute would aim to address.
“One of the highlights of the Build Up will be a presentation by Ms Flo Frank, one of Canada’s most highly respected community development practitioners,” she said.
The ‘Build Up’ will run from 27 September to 6 November 2010.
The Northern Institute will be officially launched on 7 October 2010 at Parliament House in Darwin.
For more information on the Build Up visit: www.cdu.edu.au/thenortherninstitute.