Power shared, futures reimagined

Power Shared, Futures Reimagined

Rethinking funding and decision-making to unlock local potential, advance self-determination, and deliver shared prosperity — for children, young people and future generations.

Thursday 14 August 2pm AEST via Teams Webinar

Join us for the next instalment in ARACY’s Productivity with Purpose webinar series, where we explore how new approaches to funding, governance, and decision-making can shift power, strengthen communities, and deliver long-term social and economic benefits.

Economic reform isn’t just about budgets and levers — it’s about purpose. And our purpose must be clear: ensuring children, young people, and the generations to come can thrive. This webinar explores how changing the way we fund and deliver services can shift power to communities and enable a social system that works with, not against, the outcomes we all want to see.

Power Shared, Futures Reimagined focuses on the tools and models helping communities – particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities – to lead change and improve outcomes for children, young people, and families. We’ll take a closer look at the ways the current infrastructure of the social sector can unintentionally work against its purpose, and how innovative, community-led approaches can better align intent with impact.

This conversation will feature leaders and thinkers who are reimagining how power, resources, and accountability can be shared to better support the wellbeing of people and place.

Panellists include:

• Kerry Staines, CEO, First Nations Advocates Against Family Violence, who will share insights from her work with Aboriginal women and communities and the systemic barriers and opportunities that shape efforts to end violence and drive healing and justice.
• Caroline Croser-Barlow, CEO The Front Project, will share insights from the early childhood sector, highlighting why market-based approaches often fail to meet the needs of children, families, and communities — and what can be done differently.
• Adelajda Soltysik, Senior Policy Adviser and Ryan Martin, Policy Adviser from the Centre for Policy Development will speak about how we can redesign social services to be more connected to communities and shaped by the people they’re meant to support. Ryan co-authored Putting People First, a paper on how to make services work better for people and communities, while Adelajda contributed to Growing Together, which explores the future of early childhood education in Australia. They’ll share ideas on how funding, service delivery, and decision-making can be done differently — and better.
• Diana Harris, Lead Strategy and Operations ARACY, moderator