Hollie Jones, Country Lead at Liquid Public Relations Australia and steering committee member for the Westminster Bridge Network shares the top takeaways and some food for thought after receiving funding from the UK Government to attend 2023 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors’ Forum and represent the Network.

It started with a sparkling opening ceremony and ended with a prediction from Brisbane’s Lord Mayor that “thoughts will evolve into action”, but the most important discussions were had, connections were made, and ideas were born during the two days in between.

October saw the 14th iteration of the Asia Pacific Cities Summit & Mayors’ Forum return to its birthplace, Brisbane. 118 mayors from 171 cities across the region were in attendance, travelling to Brisbane to represent over half a billion people and join crucial discussions around the summit’s three key themes: connectivity, sustainability and legacy.

The Young Professionals’ Forum – what was it all about?

Running alongside the mayoral activity was the Young Professionals’ Forum (YPF), an exclusive programme of just over 150 young people, all hungry for knowledge, all keen to share thoughts and all passionate about one (or all) of the key themes.

I was lucky enough to be part of the YPF, representing the Westminster Bridge Network, a UK in Australia young leaders’ initiative and networking programme. After joining Brisbane’s Westminster Bridge steering committee earlier this year, I jumped at the chance to meet some like-minded young professionals, discuss themes and topics important to our generation and beyond, and hopefully find some new recruits!

The most exciting thing about the YPF was that although we had access to the full summit programme and the chance to hear some inspirational keynote speeches, we were also given the space and encouragement to meet separately, share thoughts and generate ideas. Our task was to come up with innovative recommendations around the key themes then, as leaders of the future, present them to the mayors at the end of the summit.

Day 1: Connectivity and Sustainability

After an evening of networking and an exclusive chance to mingle with the mayors, the YPF settled in alongside the rest of the delegates to address two of the three key topics.

During the morning session we heard from keynote speaker and two-time world champion debater, Bo Seo, who imparted some wisdom on looking at disagreement differently and exploring new ways to connect. Contrary to widespread belief, the “opposite of bad disagreement need not be agreement, it could be good disagreement”, in other words, debate is good, and we need to make room for it! Food for thought as we headed into two days of trying to agree on key priorities to present? Most definitely.

One of the main reasons I was personally excited to attend the summit came next, a chance to hear from Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee President, Andrew Liveris. It was hard not to feel inspired after hearing about the “catalytic opportunity that is shaping over the next decade” and how Brisbane is set to deliver “the new norm”, a Games that fits the region rather than the other way round, setting a precedent for Games’ to come.

After branding the Games as having “sport at the core but people at its heart”, the organising committee and four key teams are delivering a strategic plan, brand narrative, commercial strategy and a reconciliation action plan, already getting ready for Brisbane to be on the global stage where it belongs.

Of course, this formed the basis of lively discussion over the next two days, but what surprised me was the negativity from some young people who felt not enough could be done to encourage inclusion and that the Games would contribute to sky-rocketing costs of living in Brisbane and wider South East Queensland.

I see this as more of an opportunity than an issue. The Organising Committee and anyone associated with the Games has time on their side to listen to the next generations, take their concerns seriously and involve them in the legacy that the Games hopes to leave behind, making it one we can all be proud of. For young people, the opportunity to be seen, heard and understood is huge and I would love the Westminster Bridge Network to be involved in the important conversations to come.

The afternoon saw us move onto the second key theme of sustainability and a special announcement that Brisbane had been awarded gold status by SDG Cities, a global initiative to accelerate sustainable development. Efforts by the city have included bushland acquisition programmes, increasing the number of parks and green spaces, building green bridges and committing to plant 1 million extra trees and plants before 2032, a campaign that has already meant 80% of Brisbane’s residents are living in a suburb with good tree cover.

Professor David Simmons of Lincoln University in Christchurch spoke on the importance of sustainable tourism and creating opportunities for tourism not just to restore places but to give back, while Bruno Dercon from UN-Habitat called for universal action and more leaders to commit to the SDG Cities initiative.

Finally, author and urbanist Charles Montgomery introduced us to the concept of ‘happy cities’, communities built to nurture human happiness. The biggest thing that Covid-19 taught us is that we could act quickly, but we also learned how we could improve communities. Across the world spaces went greener, pedestrian areas were built and communities came together. We had to rely on technology to communicate and clearly, when tech evolves, so do our social lives – we started creating physical and virtual communities that made us feel safe and happier.

But what’s next for Brisbane? Our to-do list is long to reach platinum status, but there was an overwhelming optimism that technology will evolve to help support.

Day 2: Legacy

It’s a big topic to unpack in half a day, but we gave it a pretty good go!

Unsurprisingly, conversations centred around Brisbane 2032 and the Olympic-sized opportunities that are up for grabs.

We spent the morning listening from veterans of global events such as the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, World Expo Dubai 2020 and the first ever Olympic and Paralympic Games with no spectators, Tokyo 2020.

20 years prior to the kick off of Brisbane 2032, London was leading the way with initiatives like a dedicated ‘London Legacy Delivery Corporation’, an Olympic fringe programme and an athlete village that would benefit generations to come.

In the midst of the pandemic, Dubai and Tokyo were both preparing for large-scale events, navigating the changes in travel restrictions, health advice and growing cases worldwide. Tokyo took sustainable and technological leaps by making medals from recycled small home appliances and developing 73 robots (12 different types!) and employing them in roles such as welcoming athletes, retrieving items at throwing events and carrying heavy items.

So, lots to be inspired by, but what did the YPF think about legacy? The general consensus was that it needs to start now.

Priorities around the room were different, whether it was creating social inclusiveness, improving communities and transport connections, observing indigenous traditions or building diverse housing. One thing that we could all agree on was that we have plenty of time before 2032 to make a difference, legacy shouldn’t begin following a major event, the path should be paved and foundations should be set way in advance – say, nine years!

Wrapping things up

After two days of discussion, debate and inspiration, the YPF came up with a shortlist of top recommendations that we wanted to share with the city leaders, in the hope that some of them are taken forward.

Connection

• Make transport more accessible for diverse communities.
• Create youth forums to give the next generation a voice.
• Foster soft diplomacy for sustainable connections and to build resilient cities.

Sustainability

• Cities should subsidise sustainability efforts for small businesses while increasing requirements for larger businesses.
• Think of ways to reuse empty spaces such as retail units and offices, to bring communities together.
• Set mandates for the use of sustainable materials such as green concrete.

Legacy

• Create requirements for the build of diverse housing solutions to encourage communities.
• Engage and empower communities through consultation projects in the run up to Brisbane 2032.
• Develop transport solutions that will benefit generations to come.

Some bold ideas that will take work, resource and investment but with the passion and commitment that was present in the room, I don’t think our city leaders would be short of volunteers to help make these ideas a reality.

The final words from Brisbane’s Lord Mayor were “you’re here because you care about your nation, the future of the world and about making positive change”.

The opportunities for young people to contribute, build legacy are there for the taking. I’m looking forward to discussing how we can be part of the change we wish to see with Westminster Bridge Network members from Brisbane and across Australia in the coming months.