Roundtable: Building a consortium for Language and Linguistics advocacy in Australia

Part of the work of our respective organisations is to advocate on behalf of both our members and the profession we represent to policy and decision makers, and to the general public. Advocacy work may consist of formal responses to Government policy announcements, or press releases etc. They may include other forms of public communication and outreach. Issues we respond to may have national scope, or they may be relevant only to a state or local jurisdiction. 

In the past couple of years, we have seen several significant issues emerge that, as experts and representatives of language and linguistics professionals, we are well-placed to respond to. Examples include improving public health message effectiveness across Australia’s CALD communities, especially in response to COVID19 challenges; and our sector’s responses to the Federal Government ‘Job-ready Graduates’ package that has made languages ‘cheaper’ to study at the tertiary sector.  

As individual associations we may be considered ‘small fish’ when it comes to advocating for policy change, or making recommendations following government and other organisational announcements. We are more likely to be considered ‘bigger fish’ if we work together, at least as a consortium of signatories when engaged in advocacy and publicity work that is of broader national concern.  

There are various ways we might develop a process by which a consortium could be activated either reactively in response to policy, or proactively to raise public awareness on issues.  

Aim: The aim of the roundtable is therefore to discuss these questions: 

1. what are the key recent, current and future issues that are of most concern to members of our respective organisations? 
2. what kinds of activities might a consortium of language and linguistics professional associations engage in as a consortium?  
3. what mechanisms/systems might be put in place to ensure a sustainable coordination of joint actions and effective communication between societies? 

As a participant in this roundtable discussion, you are invited to consider these three questions so that we are all able to learn about what are the main concerns of our respective organisations, and what different associations might want to achieve through a more coordinated approach to advocacy.