The centrepiece of the discussions was a free public panel discussion at Victoria University—Will tomorrow’s Asia be secure? This discussion considered where strategic competition in the region is headed, and what it means for North Asia, Southeast Asia and other parts of the region where so many of New Zealand’s economic and security interests are concentrated.
The panel was made up of academics from Victoria University, Australian National University (Canberra), Keio University (Tokyo), Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), Seoul National University and Chulalongkorn University (Thailand). As well as participating in this discussion, the academics met with officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The series of events was organised by Victoria University as part of the Capital City Universities Initiative (CCUI), which aims to help universities based in capital cities more effectively support better government decision-making on global problems.
Victoria University Vice-Chancellor Grant Guilford says the CCUI aims to help global-civic universities in selected national capitals better utilise for the public good their proximity to public sectors and national institutions.
“Victoria operates at the fertile interface between town, gown and crown. We are ideally positioned to lead thinking on major societal, cultural, economic and environmental issues.
“The same holds true for universities based in capital cities around the Asia-Pacific region, and it makes perfect sense for us to collaborate with these institutions to help influence government policy on issues that affect our countries and regions.
“From climate change, to international security, to cultural understanding—our research can change the way our leaders look at things,” Professor Guilford says.
Victoria’s Assistant Vice-Chancellor (International Engagement), Dr Matthew O’Meagher, says two more symposia are planned for later in 2016 and early in 2017—one on domestic implementation of the Paris climate change agreement, and one on the challenges and opportunities of global people movements.
“These symposia and the Initiative more broadly create spaces for capital city university academics, students and senior managers to discuss how their ideas and institutions can influence policy-making around pressing challenges within their states and across borders,” Dr O’Meagher says.