6th Edition of the Australian Leaders Program: Sustainable Cities

The Spain-Australia Council Foundation held a new edition of the Australian Leaders Program. This activity, now in its sixth edition, promotes knowledge exchange between Spain and Australia by inviting a select group of experts in sectors of interest to the bilateral relationship.

Over the course of a week, technical meetings and site visits are organized with both companies and public and private institutions. The objective is to create a broad network of professional contacts, showcase the work, achievements, and challenges of the visited organizations, and share needs, solutions, and perspectives in the sector explored between the two countries.

This edition of the Australian Leaders Program focused on Sustainable Cities, and the following experts were invited to Spain:

· Elizabeth Mossop, Dean of the Design School at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney (UTS). A landscape architect and urban planner with extensive experience in both landscape design and urban planning. Her professional practice focuses on urban infrastructure projects and open spaces, including award-winning projects such as Bowen Place Crossing (Canberra), Press Street Gardens (New Orleans), and Cook & Phillip Park (Sydney). She also contributed to many aspects of the reconstruction of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after the hurricane and the revitalization of Detroit.

· Michael Fotheringham, CEO of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. He is responsible for setting the national research agenda on housing and maintaining an internationally recognized evidence base on housing, homelessness, and urban planning issues. He is a member of the National Shelter Council and participates in several expert advisory groups, providing specialized advice to Commonwealth and Australian state ministers, as well as internationally.

· Barton Green, CEO of the Commitee for Brisbane, , a non-profit organization that has contributed to making Brisbane one of the best places in the world to live for over 60 years. Its forums discuss ideas and issues shaping the city and its region. Barton has more than 36 years of executive management experience and over 23 years as a company director. He has served on boards of private companies, public authorities, and non-profit organizations. He is currently President of Green & Gold Athletes and a director of QMusic.

The agenda during the week included meetings and visits to:

Barcelona: Barcelona City Council, DecidiM Plataform, Bithabitat, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, RMIT Europe, 22@, IMHAB, Port of Barcelona

Madrid: Regional Transport Consortium, COAM-CSCAE, Acciona, SACF Board, Madrid City Council, Norman Foster Fundation, Australian Embassy in Spain

Málaga: Málaga City Council, Málaga Digital Hub

View the Program Summary in PDF

Interview with Elizabeth Mossop: "We need to seek more opportunities for Australian companies in emerging technologies"

Entrevista a Michael Fotheringam: "There are many things we can share between both countries"