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What will it be like to live in the Great Southern in 2050? And how do we prepare the region's young people for a century set to experience massive transitions in technology, society and the environment?

These are just some of the questions to be discussed at the Education Futures Great Southern Conference in Albany's Entertainment Centre on October 13 and 14. The conference will be of interest to teachers as well as business and community members.

One of the keynote speakers has more than a few ideas about the mid-21 ^st century world. Dr Peter Ellyard - author of the best-selling books Ideas for the New Millennium and Designing 2050 - is a Melbourne-based futurist and strategist. He is Chairman of the Preferred Futures Institute and the Preferred Futures Group, which he founded in 1991. He also chairs the Sustainable Prosperity Foundation and two start-up environmental companies, and has a particular interest in regional development.

Dr Ellyard is a former Executive Director for the Australian Commission for the Future. He held CEO positions in a number of public sector organisations over 15 years including two associated with Environment and Planning, and one with Industry and Technology. He is an elected Member of the International Union of Associations, based in Brussels, which has 45,000 international NGO members.

A graduate of Sydney University and Cornell University in the US, Dr Ellyard has been a Senior Adviser to the United Nations system for more than 30 years, including to the 1992 Earth Summit where he was a senior advisor on both the climate change and the biodiversity conventions. In this he was the only Australian and one of only 20 globally.

WHAT: Dr Peter Ellyard's keynote address Designing 2050 - Pathways to Sustainable Prosperity

WHEN: 4.15pm. Sunday 13 October

WHERE: Princess Royal Theatre, Albany Entertainment Centre

Dr Ellyard is available for media interviews.

Contact Conference Convener Mark Paynter (see details below) for more information about the conference and other keynote speakers including WA's Chief Scientist, Professor Lyn Beazley; Stephen Hopper, UWA Winthrop Professor of Biodiversity and recent Director of Kew Gardens in the UK; Professor Barry McGaw, Chair of ACARA; and UWA Professor Neville Bruce, coordinator of Integrated Human Studies and Director of Education for World Futures.

Media references

Dr Peter Ellyard (Executive Director Preferred Futures , Chair MyPlanet Foundation )  (+61 3)  9867 6293  /  (+61 4) 00 446 722
Mark Paynter (Conference Convener)  (+61 8)  9842 0839  /  (+61 4) 29 216 453
Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 00 700 783