Grammar Gazette_Issue1_2025

Giving voice to the future A new framework to build hope

Kristin brought this inspiring philosophy to an engaging special presentation for academic and professional staff, demonstrating how we can all learn to think outside the box and regain a sense of agency. Invoking an almost sci-fi feel, Kristin also outlined a framework for interrogating issues through the perspectives of five different `time commissioners’ who consider the impact of policy decisions from discrete time periods stretching from one year out to 60 000 years. Thinking beyond the immediate can often change decision-making, she said. A minerals engineer by training, Kristin has a Masters of Strategic Foresight from Swinburne University and is Co-Executive Director of the Ubuntu Lab, developing online and in-person experiences to deepen shared human understanding.

‘That’s preposterous!’ is usually a criticism, but to Professor Kristin Alford (Stewart, 1989) it’s the highest praise. The Grammar Woman returned to the School at the start of 2025 to fire up imaginations and inspire staff with a new framework for thinking about a positive and hopeful future. Considering the future is Kristin’s stock in-trade as a ‘futurist’ and founding director of the University of South Australia’s award-winning Museum of Discovery (MOD.), an innovative institution that blends science, art and technology to produce displays that challenge the way we think about problems. Pitched at a jaded generation of 15-25-year-olds, MOD. aims to revive the somewhat out-of-favour belief it is possible to change the world.

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The key, according to Kristin, is escaping the ‘crisis of imagination’ that prevents us envisaging more novel solutions to our problems. She encourages playful thought experiments where people widen their lenses from considering only a probable future, to thinking about a plausible one, a possible one, and then, her gold standard, the preposterous future.

Remembering Girls Grammar across the eras Panellists share laughs and lessons on Foundation Day

Seven inspirational Grammar Women reflected on how core values learned at School had stayed with them, when they returned to take part in the Eras Panel, a lively discussion that formed part of an afternoon of celebrations on March 15, to mark 150 Years since the school's Foundation Day. We heard how a Grammar girl who became a Supreme Court judge fought for the right to debate boys; how a human rights advocate found her calling; and how a trailblazing physio turned league legend into an accidental advocate for women’s rights.

The panel of special guests speaking in the Gehrmann Theatre spanned 60 years of BGGS life, with Ann Caston (Pressland, 1958), The Honourable Roslyn Atkinson AO (1965), Dorothy Hawkins (Khafagi, 1975), Salliann Powell (Johnson, 1986), Saori Peguicha (Uyeda, 1992), Stephanie Carter (2007) and Sarvashree Singh (Head Girl, 2014). Ann Caston recalled the long journey to School from her home at Wynnum in the ‘50s, saying ‘It gave me enough time to go through my whole Latin textbook on every journey.’

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26 | GAZETTE • ISSUE 1, 2025

Brisbane Girls Grammar School