The 2020 Pearcey Oration was originally presented on 2 September

Resilience & Preparedness in an Age of Mistrust

Imagine the future!! We must if we want it to be better than today.

Are you an innovator, founder, investor, business operator, professional, student, politician, academic, tradesperson?

It doesn't matter. Whatever your role in society, a better future needs your voice to shape that future.

The Pearcey Oration is presented each year by an eminent thought-leader, reflecting on critical, contemporary issues arising from the impact on our nation of new, advanced technologies. Past Orations have included those given by Roger Taylor, Robyn Williams, Dr Amanda Caples and Paul Shetler.

2020 Orator John Blackburn AO

In 2020, our Orator, John Blackburn AO, Air Vice-Marshal (Retd) and Chair of The Institute for Integrated Economic Research (IIER), explored the pertinent topic of Resilience.

How do we address our resilience and preparedness in this age of mistrust?

The Coronavirus pandemic has exposed a global lack of resilience as a result of a collective failure to assess and act on national risks and vulnerabilities in the face of a rapidly changing world.

Whilst Australia’s response to the pandemic has been comparatively very good, our national preparedness, and thus resilience, has been found wanting. We had left our resilience, and therefore our sovereignty and security, to the largely foreign-owned market, particularly with regard to technology systems and solutions.

Learn, share and connect - delving into this rich and complex topic, with like-minded individuals. Join the conversation after this, the most significant technology oration in the nation, to be part of making that better future happen!!

Help shape how we do a better job of making our nation an integrated community with technology as a vital plank for persistent, adaptive resilience and self-reliance in a post-pandemic century.

Introduced and moderated by Jordan Green, Victorian State Chairman and National Executive Committee Member of the Pearcey Foundation

Find out more about the Pearcey Oration and the work of the Pearcey Foundation.  

This event was sponsored by the Victorian Government and as a feature of the Digital Innovation Festival, now in its fifth year of celebration of Victoria's tech community.

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Prior to the Oration Dr Elaine Saunders, 2011 Pearcey Entrepreneur award recipient and Deputy Chair of Pearcey Victoria, presented the Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur award to Grant Petty, founder and CEO of Blacmagic Design.

Grant has become one of the world's leading innovators of creative technologies drawing on the inspiration and experience of growing up in a Victorian country town where creativity was undervalued and an interest in computers was considered weird. His love of software programming and computers transported him out of that country town and onto the global stage. His passion for technology and the empowerment of creativity transformed his life and the lives of the more than 1,200 people who work for him.

"Grant has made brave decisions all along the way, sticking to his values and his independence to forge an individual path; a model for success that should inspire many other Australian entrepreneurs, Jordan Green, Victorian Chair, Pearcey Foundation

Grant built Blackmagic Design into a multi-billion dollar international company leading digital cinema camera development, live streaming, broadcasting, editing, special effects and sound engineering. His products are used by millions and the explosion of high quality film and videos on Netflix through to YouTube, owes a great debt to Grant's vision and passion.

Based right here in Port Melbourne Blackmagic Design has operations in the USA, Europe, the UK, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia. Grant has built a very large, successul and inspirational company which represents a high water mark in the Australian technology sector.