News Corp Australia has launched the second instalment of its annual future report series, BEYOND.
Alongside this is a conference and accompanying book – both branded BEYOND‘23 – exploring what the nation’s near-term future might look like and what leaders need to be considering.
The first session in the half-day conference explores the Voice proposal to federal parliament, featuring an expert panel comprising some of Indigenous Australia’s most prominent leaders and thinkers, including Nyunggai Warren Mundine AO, Indigenous leader; Dean Parkin, director, From The Heart; Hannah Hollis, Fox Sports journalist; and Anthony Dillon, academic and commentator on Indigenous Affairs.
Michael Miller, executive chairman of News Corp Australasia, said the initiative was a natural extension of journalism’s traditional role in society.
“News has always sought to engage, inform and advocate – to seek a better Australia and connect in an authentic way with all Australians.
“BEYOND‘23 challenges us to all to question the status quo – to ask the difficult questions, remain curious and to aim higher,” he said.
Miller noted the conference followed the example set by News Corp Australia mastheads with events such as The Global Food Forum, The Bush Summit and The Future Series among others.
“We are facilitating the big debates through our conference franchise – which reflects our transition from a traditional publisher to broader forums and mediums to enable important discussions.
“Our ambition is that the BEYOND series will become a regular part of the national conversation to stimulate the nation’s thinking and the conversations we need to have about the many complex issues and opportunities facing our nation.
Miller said the book – which can be downloaded on The Australian’s website – and the conference, which will also be live streamed on Sky News, followed last year’s BEYOND‘22 book.
This year the idea has expanded to include the conference – an invitation-only session to be held on November 8, ahead of an expected further expansion in 2023.
In the conference’s other sessions Sky News journalist Tom Connell will host a session featuring video and expert demographic analysis based on data from the most recent Census to explore how Australia is changing more rapidly than at any time in our history, looking at who we are, the lives we lead, and what the future holds for our children.
The videos feature five families from diverse communities, looking at how the big trends may affect them in a range of areas, including the jobs their children may perform in future decades.
The day will finish with The Australian’s associate editor Cameron Stewart and Australian Ambassador to the United States, Arthur Sinodinos, discussing the US mid-term elections in the context of fresh global economic and military emergencies.
The accompanying 156-page book, also called BEYOND’23, features dozens of articles traversing a wide range of topics from the mixed-reality of the metaverse to whether Michelle Obama could run for President of the United States, what the future of streaming services might look like through to the revolution in diagnostic testing.
It will be distributed to community leaders, politicians and the company’s clients.