Uploaded April 2024 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
1320th Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture of the Royal Society of NSW — 17 April 2024
“Putting the 'Civil' Back in Civil Society”
In converation: Emeritus Professor Peter Shergold AC FRSN (1) and Professor Kristy Muir (2)
(1) Vice President, Royal Society of NSW
(2) Chief Eexecutive Officer, Paul Ramsay Foundation
https://royalsoc.org.au/blog/157th-agm-and-1320th-ogm-and-open-lecture
The presentation commences at 01:16
Timing Marks:
00:00:00 Introduction to the presenters: Dr Susan Pond AM FRSN FTSE FAHMS, President, Royal Society of NSW
00:01:16 In conversation: Emeritus Professor Peter Shergold and Professor Kristy Muir
00:41:33 Q&A session: moderated by Emeritus Professor Christina Slade, Chair , Program Committee, Royal Society of NSW
01:24:29 Vote of Thanks: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade
01:26:21 Meeting Close
Summary
A generation ago, it seemed that democracy was a given. No longer.
Democratic governance appears fragile, under the threat from authoritarianism, xenophobia and populism. Trust in political leaders is wavering, thanks to the rise of AI and the increasingly powerful role of social media as a primary news source. In Australia, as elsewhere, public discourse seems riven by increasing social divisiveness and political discord. What’s going wrong? Who or what is to blame? What can be done to restore a truly civil society?
Kristy Muir and Peter Shergold will argue across a contested terrain.
Professor Peter Shergold AC FRSN is an Australian academic, company director and former public servant. Between February 2003 and February 2008, as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Peter was the most senior official in the Australian Public Service. He was the Chancellor of Western Sydney University from 2011 through 2022. Currently, Peter is Vice President of the Royal Society of NSW
Professor Kristy Muir is Paul Ramsay Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer. She is also a Professor of Social Policy at UNSW Sydney Business School and Chair of Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy Australasia.
Kristy has worked for more than three decades — as a support worker, academic, collaborator, leader, funder, and board director — with for-purpose organisations that enable children, families, and communities to thrive.
Kristy is a seasoned keynote speaker and internationally recognised leader. She has published widely and has delivered her insights on governance for social impact to hundreds of non-executive directors and CEOs through formal executive education programs. She founded the AGSM Governance for Social Impact course and the Social Impact Leadership Australia program which she currently teaches to for-purpose CEOs.
Kristy has undertaken more than 100 social impact projects with partners across sectors, including governments, not-for-profits, corporates, social enterprises, academics, and philanthropists. Many of these projects were designed to work alongside families and communities, and they spanned housing, education, employment, social participation, disability, mental health, financial resilience, wellbeing, and the social purpose sector.
Kristy was CEO of the Centre for Social Impact (2017-21), served as an elected academic member of UNSW’s Council (2016-2021), and was a non-executive Director of the Community Council of Australia and the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Young People (ARACY). She has a PhD in social history and is a graduate of executive education at Harvard Business School and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Kristy has worked for more than three decades — as a support worker, academic, collaborator, leader, funder, and board director — with for-purpose organisations that enable children, families, and communities to thrive.
Kristy is a seasoned keynote speaker and internationally recognised leader. She has published widely and has delivered her insights on governance for social impact to hundreds of non-executive directors and CEOs through formal executive education programs. She founded the AGSM Governance for Social Impact course and the Social Impact Leadership Australia program which she currently teaches to for-purpose CEOs.
Kristy has undertaken more than 100 social impact projects with partners across sectors, including governments, not-for-profits, corporates, social enterprises, academics, and philanthropists. She was CEO of the Centre for Social Impact (2017-21), served as an elected academic member of UNSW’s Council (2016-2021), and was a non-executive Director of the Community Council of Australia and the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Young People (ARACY). She has a PhD in social history and is a graduate of executive education at Harvard Business School and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
1320th Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture of the Royal Society of NSW — 17 April 2024
“Putting the 'Civil' Back in Civil Society”
In converation: Emeritus Professor Peter Shergold AC FRSN (1) and Professor Kristy Muir (2)
(1) Vice President, Royal Society of NSW
(2) Chief Eexecutive Officer, Paul Ramsay Foundation
https://royalsoc.org.au/blog/157th-agm-and-1320th-ogm-and-open-lecture
The presentation commences at 01:16
Timing Marks:
00:00:00 Introduction to the presenters: Dr Susan Pond AM FRSN FTSE FAHMS, President, Royal Society of NSW
00:01:16 In conversation: Emeritus Professor Peter Shergold and Professor Kristy Muir
00:41:33 Q&A session: moderated by Emeritus Professor Christina Slade, Chair , Program Committee, Royal Society of NSW
01:24:29 Vote of Thanks: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade
01:26:21 Meeting Close
Summary
A generation ago, it seemed that democracy was a given. No longer.
Democratic governance appears fragile, under the threat from authoritarianism, xenophobia and populism. Trust in political leaders is wavering, thanks to the rise of AI and the increasingly powerful role of social media as a primary news source. In Australia, as elsewhere, public discourse seems riven by increasing social divisiveness and political discord. What’s going wrong? Who or what is to blame? What can be done to restore a truly civil society?
Kristy Muir and Peter Shergold will argue across a contested terrain.
Professor Peter Shergold AC FRSN is an Australian academic, company director and former public servant. Between February 2003 and February 2008, as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Peter was the most senior official in the Australian Public Service. He was the Chancellor of Western Sydney University from 2011 through 2022. Currently, Peter is Vice President of the Royal Society of NSW
Professor Kristy Muir is Paul Ramsay Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer. She is also a Professor of Social Policy at UNSW Sydney Business School and Chair of Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy Australasia.
Kristy has worked for more than three decades — as a support worker, academic, collaborator, leader, funder, and board director — with for-purpose organisations that enable children, families, and communities to thrive.
Kristy is a seasoned keynote speaker and internationally recognised leader. She has published widely and has delivered her insights on governance for social impact to hundreds of non-executive directors and CEOs through formal executive education programs. She founded the AGSM Governance for Social Impact course and the Social Impact Leadership Australia program which she currently teaches to for-purpose CEOs.
Kristy has undertaken more than 100 social impact projects with partners across sectors, including governments, not-for-profits, corporates, social enterprises, academics, and philanthropists. Many of these projects were designed to work alongside families and communities, and they spanned housing, education, employment, social participation, disability, mental health, financial resilience, wellbeing, and the social purpose sector.
Kristy was CEO of the Centre for Social Impact (2017-21), served as an elected academic member of UNSW’s Council (2016-2021), and was a non-executive Director of the Community Council of Australia and the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Young People (ARACY). She has a PhD in social history and is a graduate of executive education at Harvard Business School and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Kristy has worked for more than three decades — as a support worker, academic, collaborator, leader, funder, and board director — with for-purpose organisations that enable children, families, and communities to thrive.
Kristy is a seasoned keynote speaker and internationally recognised leader. She has published widely and has delivered her insights on governance for social impact to hundreds of non-executive directors and CEOs through formal executive education programs. She founded the AGSM Governance for Social Impact course and the Social Impact Leadership Australia program which she currently teaches to for-purpose CEOs.
Kristy has undertaken more than 100 social impact projects with partners across sectors, including governments, not-for-profits, corporates, social enterprises, academics, and philanthropists. She was CEO of the Centre for Social Impact (2017-21), served as an elected academic member of UNSW’s Council (2016-2021), and was a non-executive Director of the Community Council of Australia and the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Young People (ARACY). She has a PhD in social history and is a graduate of executive education at Harvard Business School and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
