Andrew
| Name: |
Andrew Blyberg |
| I live: |
Melbourne |
I am a young idealist who is too naive to know whats impossible so I will just do it anyway. There are many issues that I care deeply about and I want to devote my life to working for those causes I hold dear. If I can spend my time on Earth as a force for justice and humanity then I will leave this place satisfied. I am an Arts/Law student at Monash University and, although I haven't decided on a definate career path, I know that I want it to be a constructive and productive contributer to the causes and the people that need the most support. But, there is so much to be done and change is a slow process so I cannot wait. I have spent a couple of years volunteering for several organisations, most recently for a wonderful organisation called the Oaktree Foundation. There are some amazing young people down there, doing amazing things. I feel that young people posses a tremendous power to influence the world around us. If you agree you should shoot me an email because if we work together, I think believe anything is possible.
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Tim Costello said in an interview earlier today that this summit is important symbol to the people of Australia.
'For a long time,' he said, 'Government has been steering a boat called society and the Australian people have only been doing the rowing.'
He went on to say that this summit was the Governments way of letting the people take hold of the steering wheel and have a say in the direction of society.
I just interviewed Comedian Corrine Grant over lunch. She's part of the Creative Australia stream at the 2020 Summit.
She said, echoing the words of co-chair Cate Blanchet this morning, that the key to placing creativity back in the heart of Australia is education.
Ms Grant acknowledged a culture in Australian schools that values maths and science over more artistic subjects. Changing such attitudes is vital for the future of the arts in Australia.
I must say that I am watching the Presidential race in the US with excitement and anticipation. Barack Obama won the Iowa caucus last on Thursday and looks strong moving forward. My tip for the Democratic ticket is Obama/Edwards. However I'm still hoping for a late run from Gore, although I doubt it.
The most exciting thing is that in the space of less than two years we may go from Bush, Blair and Howard to Obama, Brown and Rudd. I'm not necessarily declaring my support for the latter line up but merely pointing out that we are standing on the door step of what might be a time of great change in the world.
Happy New Year!
I recently recieved an email from a wonderful organisation called GetUp. The email held a really positive message for us all, at this time in history. It reflected upon our tendency to be critical of government and public policy in recent years. It did not suggest that the critisisms were not needed or unfounded but offered an opportunity for something new. As we stand at the door step of a defining moment in our history and in the context of a new government, we have a duty to aspire. We have a duty to aspire to achieve a future that we can all be proud of. The final line of Jeffery Sachs' book, 'The End of Poverty', is "let the future say of our generation that we sent forth mighty currents of hope, that we worked together an healed the world." It is a very romantic and idealistic statement, yet it is a goal that I feel we should aspire to. That we have a duty to aspire to.
I am a new member of the ActNow family and am very excited to be on board.
I have spent the last couple of days reading over the many insightful and inspired articles and opinion pieces that have been contributed by other members. Its hard to articulate how much joy I feel as I click through the pages.
It is a joy caused by the recognition of a like minded people. It is not that I agree with everything that I have read but rather that I am uplifted by the fact that people have gone to the effort of writing it.
In a world where our generation is accused of being both ignorant and apathetic, this site stands as a beacon of an informed, impassioned and active youth. It is a beacon of hope.
It fills me with the hope of what we might achieve. Because an impassioned and active youth could achieve anything.
It said that you should never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world; indeed they are the only ones who ever have.
It is with joy and hope that I join this group of thoughtful citizens and I look forward to what the future may hold.
