The other week my friend Astrid Wehling mentioned something called The Australia Project, and said that this was something that might be right up my alley. And how right she was.

The Australia Project is the brainchild of a team of three creative types from Adelaide, Chris Edser, Scott Heinrich and Yianni Hill. I spoke with Yianni to ask what inspired them to come up with the Project.

The guys got their inspiration for their project while doing their respective internship and work stints in Italy. While overseas they asked themselves several questions on being Australian. ‘What is Australia?’ ‘How do others perceive us?’ And ‘How do Australians see Australia?’

These are the type of questions I have always asked myself and I have written and spoken on the issue of Australian identity and citizenship over the years. Back in the late 1990s, whilst still in high school, I founded an initiative called the Australian Vision: 2020. Whose message was Australia: One Country, Many Peoples, All Australians. The aim, was to raise the level discussion on who we are as Australians and where were we going. It was part nation defining and part nation building.

The Australia Projects aims in “encouraging Australian creatives to explore and redefine clichéd national stereotypes in the hope of revealing a unique perspective on contemporary Australian culture.” This is a much needed and most interesting goal. The BBC’s Australian correspondent Nick Bryant asks some salient questions about the ‘clichéd national stereotypes’,

“Why, for instance, does such a laid-back country have some of the longest working hours in the OECD? What explains the sanctification of the bush and the outback in one of the most urbanised countries in the world? Why did this “no worries” nation see the consumption of anti-depressants triple in the past 10 years? Why has a country which prides itself on its egalitarianism, which champions the underdog, and which trumpets the “fair go” not always extended those precepts to its original occupants and some of its most recent arrivals?”

I agree with Nick on all his points except the last one. I do believe Australia does extend a ‘fair go’ to its most recent arrivals, too much of a ‘fair go’ if you ask me. Anyway, The Australia Project is a much welcome initiative, I wish the guys all the best and will be contributing to the discussion. I hope others do so as well.

Photo Source: The Australia Project