We are a community of curious, connected and interested Melburnians contributing to and engaging on the important issues of today and tomorrow.
Melbourne Forum gives you access to the highest level of expertise and real-world lessons that our conversation leaders – all with a reputation for excellence – bring to the table under the Chatham House rule.
We are committed to providing a platform for, and the increased visibility of, diverse voices.
With varied formats (in-person or virtual; conversation leader or members engaging with each other; learning from experts or new experiences) there are multiple ways to participate.
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October 2021
Challenges, opportunities and impact of Start-ups in Victoria’s future
The StartUp sector in Victoria is a rapidly growing part of Victoria’s future economic recovery as it can quickly adopt new ideas or approaches to problems and has a jobs multiplier effect. In 2020 (prior to Covid-19), the sector doubled in just one year, with…
Find out more »The Carbon Club
Marian Wilkinson is one of Australia's best known journalists. At various times she has been Editor of 4 Corners, where she is presently Senior Reporter and has worked at all Australian major newspapers; she has worked for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald where she…
Find out more »What in the World!
While we thought the world was working hard to eradicate a Global Pandemic, the world is going crazy. What is going on? Join us on Friday afternoon from 5:00pm to talk about 'what in the world!"
Find out more »The COVID Vaccines & Clinical trial of an Australian-developed Vaccine
With the COVID vaccination program now in full swing in Australia have you considered what is the “magic ingredient” in that half or third of a millilitre of liquid that was just injected into your arm? The daily News is filled with updates on…
Find out more »Power of Belief
What do we believe? Who do we believe? Why do we believe? are the central questions raised in this book. From award-winning author Sarah Krasnostein comes an exploration of the power of belief. To write The Believer: Encounters with love, death & faith (Text Publishing,…
Find out more »The value of independent, integrated infrastructure planning
Following the recent release of Victoria’s Infrastructure Strategy 2021-2051, join Infrastructure Victoria CEO Michel Masson for a discussion on the value of independent, integrated, long-term planning. We all rely upon the infrastructure that underpins our daily lives. At a time of change and uncertainty, evidence-based…
Find out more »Melbourne – Our cultural capital
Are we getting value for our spend on the arts in Victoria? A Twenty First Century Opera Company Richard Mills AM FAHA is a highly regarded Australian conductor and composer. He is the Artistic Director of the Victorian Opera whose “mission is to reimagine the…
Find out more »An Independent Age?
Gay Alcorn was appointed Editor of The Age in September 2020. In its 166 years Ms Alcorn is the first female editor. Her appointment was said to be extremely popular. Since the merger between the Fairfax empire and Nine in 2018, many supporters of Melbourne’s most…
Find out more »Can you put a cost on a human life?
We are thrilled that Prof Gigi Foster is joining us from NSW via Zoom. As one of Australia’s leading economics communicators, she argues the case that our lockdowns have been counter productive – that taken together the economic, social and health costs of lockdown are…
Find out more »November 2021
Crown Casino — A slap on the wrist? Or something else?
Following successive inquiries, first in Sydney with Patricia Bergin SC and more recently in Melbourne with Ray Finkelstein QC, Crown Casino is reeling after the most serious findings against the company. Indeed Mr Finkelstein has found that Crown’s actions, including a number of examples of…
Find out more »The impact of COVID-19 on universities and the path to recovery
International education was Victoria’s single largest export sector in 2019, worth $13.7 billion and supporting around 79,000 jobs. Over 250,000 international students studied here in 2019, but by December last year that figure had more than halved due to the coronavirus pandemic. Australia’s higher education sector, which had grown reliant on international student fees, has lost billions…
Find out more »COP26 – A failure or success?
John Connor is the Chief Executive Officer of the Carbon Market Institute (CMI) the independent and non-partisan peak industry body for business and climate in Australia. Prior to joining CMI in May 2019, John Connor served for over two years as Executive Director of the…
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