It gives me great pleasure to announce that I recently joined the board of the Dusseldorp Forum. Formed in 1989 when my grandfather Dick Dusseldorp retired from Lend Lease as the founding Chairman, the Forum was set up in response to his question: “What would be possible if one had the independent means to pioneer new ways for young people to acquire a broader range of skills to better prepare them for the future?”
Initially called the Dusseldorp Skills Forum, it’s an independent, public interest, not-for-profit organisation. In recent years it has broadened its interests to focus on early childhood learning approaches that ensure greater engagement and equitable educational opportunities for all young Australians. It is now simply called the Dusseldorp Forum.
One of my first official duties was to attend a seminar for the board on Charities and Governance hosted by lawyers from Freehills. It was interesting to learn the benefits and responsibilities associated with having charitable status and I was inspired by reviewing our mission statement and strategy.
I think my father Tjerk Dusseldorp, who Chairs the Forum, sums it up perfectly with this statement:
“True to the Forum’s origins, our conviction remains that young Australians, equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to tackle tomorrow’s work opportunities, are our greatest resource to meet the larger challenges facing our society in the early part of the 21st century. Helping to liberate that potential is the reason we exist.”
The Forum has a wonderful track record, and is most recently having an amazingly positive impact in the domain of social justice, particularly for young people. We partner with selected lighthouse initiatives, such as the Justice Reinvestment project in Bourke, which is an example of excellent place-based solutions to difficult problems.
You could be forgiven for thinking that these challenging times might make it harder to carry out the mission of the Forum but, believe it or not, COVID-19 has actually opened up communication channels for disruptive ideas. In response, the Forum is doubling down on its commitment to social change. It is evident that now is a good time to push even harder to change “the way we have always done things".
See the recent activities of the forum and follow the forum on Facebook or our other socials to keep up to date with the activities of the Forum's management team, led by my amazing sister Teya Dusseldorp.