News Alert |

One of Australia’s leading social commentators, columnist, speaker and business advisor, Bernard Salt, is on his way to Ballarat.

Presented by the City of Ballarat, Salt will speak at Digital Innovation and Ballarat’s Future – a Digital Innovation Festival event – on Tuesday 3 September.

Salt will explore what Ballarat and regional Australia will look like in an increasingly technology driven and digitised world, and the existing and future capabilities and drivers which will position Ballarat as a hub of innovation.

Perhaps best known for his penchant for identifying and tagging new tribes and social behaviours such as the ‘Seachange Shift’, the ‘Man Drought’ and the ‘Goats Cheese Curtain’, Salt is no stranger to Ballarat.

It’s not unusual for Ballarat to form the basis of his commentary. Earlier this year he talked about Ballarat’s projected growth and how ‘the bigger, more congested, the less affordable Melbourne becomes the prettier Ballarat and Bendigo look’ in his article Beyond seachange and treechange lies the lure of ‘pretty cities’.

Following decades of consistent growth and projections showing a consistent rate of growth to come, Ballarat Mayor Samantha McIntosh said now was the time to be courageous in the technology space.

“Getting bigger means thinking bigger – City of Ballarat no longer follows the traditional council approach of managing our growth, we seek to actively shape it. It means being ahead of the game, shaping when and where growth is going to happen, how much and how it’s going to happen,” she said.

“It’s about being a clever city – about knowledge-based industries, innovation and cross collaboration rather than competition.

“We are leaders in heritage, intercultural cities, and we’re beginning to be seen as leaders in smart tech.”

Mayor McIntosh said she looks forward to hearing from Salt and his thoughts about how embracing new technology-driven ideas and exploring them will lead and define Ballarat into the future.

Salt will speak at the Civic Hall from 6pm on Tuesday 3 September

Tickets are now available to purchase online at Eventbrite, simply search for Digital Innovation and Ballarat’s Future  

Scheduled phone interviews with Bernard Salt can be arranged upon request