Leadership

In the wake of the pandemic, tourism is experiencing a period of transition in which two trends which were already prevalent pre Covid-19 have gained momentum:

• is not easy, fast or affordable.
• This is especially true since, rather than conforming to standards, labels or certifications, we must change our relationship with the environment in order to be sustainable, rather than just appearing to be so.

Sustainability must be economical, environmental and social

• Economic sustainability is taken for granted and environmental sustainability is taken into immediate consideration, while social sustainability is put on the back burner (see, among many others, the case of Ibiza and the cost of housing).
• If there is to be true social sustainability, which in turn drives economic and environmental sustainability, the governance of tourism has to evolve.
• Before the pandemic, and in the post-pandemic period, news related to the sustainability of tourism appeared in the media.


The case of the island of Sardinia and its beaches is perhaps less well known than others, but very telling in this context.

Appreciating tourism

• This happens when the tolerance level of the local community is exceeded and tourism no longer contributes positively to their quality of life.
• When no one asks them, listens to them, takes them into account and decisions are made that severely affect their lives, it is not surprising that citizens turn against tourism when, in reality, the problem is not tourism, but the management of it.
• It is only by involving these communities in decision-making that we will find the missing link in tourism governance.
• However, this is the best way to support the tourism industry and to overcome mistrust and detachment.

Co-governance and well-being

• It is not about managing a destination, but a community with permanent residents and tourists, the latter being understood as temporary residents.
• The well-being of both must be at the core of the governance architecture.
• Are the voices of the local population heard and taken into account in the decision making processes, with a view to their well-being?

• The Alberta government recently announced a much-maligned seven-month pause on renewable (including solar) energy development in the province.
• While the exact reasons are up for debate, one specific factor has been the desire to investigate ways to make renewable energy, particularly solar, more integrated within the province over the long term.
• Agrivoltaics is the simultaneous placement of food crops and solar photovoltaic systems that produce electricity directly from sunlight — while also producing a beneficial micro climate.

Alberta and energy

• Low-cost solar energy is now growing so fast as to be a “gold rush” in Alberta.
• In fact, much to Ontario’s shame, Alberta has taken on the leadership role in solar development in Canada, generating millions of solar dollars and creating thousands of solar jobs for Alberta’s energy workers.
• However, our research in the United States has shown that agrivoltaics provide higher economic productivity, energy and food yields.
• So much so that the U.S. Department of Energy is now investing millions of dollars to ensure America’s dominance in the field.

Agrivoltaics in Canada

• Agrivoltaics is happening right here in Canada already (mostly with sheep grazing between panels on marginal land).
• Last year, we held the first agrivoltaics conference anywhere in North America at the Ivey Business School.
• The trade group made up of farmers and solar companies called Agrivoltaics Canada has formed because agrivoltaic farming can help meet Canada’s food and energy needs all the while getting rid of our fossil fuel reliance and greenhouse gas emissions (and the associated emissions liabilities).

Moving forward together

• Farmers love it as it increases yields and provides steady incomes and so do solar developers and environmentalists.
• Even most Americans support solar development when agrivoltaics protects farm jobs.
• Less than one per cent of Alberta’s farm land dedicated to agrivoltaics, cuts all harmful emissions from Alberta’s electricity sector while making more food.

• Joyce has been under sustained attack over the airline’s poor service, high prices, and customers’ difficulty in retrieving flight credits.
• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched legal action against Qantas for continuing to sell tickets on flights already cancelled.
• He said he left Qantas, where he has been chief executive for 15 years, with a lot to be proud of.
• Qantas Chairman Richard Goyder said: "Alan has always had the best interests of Qantas front and centre, and today shows that.

• It has been used as a key part of the Indigenous Voice process.
• Educational policies are emphasising the importance of schools and Indigenous peoples and communities working together in improving educational outcomes for Indigenous peoples.
• But what does it mean and does it stand up to the hype?

What is co-design?

• Co-design is open to interpretation and can mean something different to each person who comes to process.
• It originally comes from academic work on participatory principles and public sector innovation.
• It is generally understood to be a process that gives marginalised people a say on policy or programs that affect them.

Our research on co-design

• So it is a critical time to explore how co-design is defined and by whom and its potential to shift outcomes.
• Our ongoing research includes case studies of primary and secondary schools and a review of existing research on co-design in education.

1. What is the problem?

• If governments or schools have already decided what the problem is and then they seek Indigenous people to co-design a solution, this is not a co-designed process.
• The priorities of the community may well be different to the priorities of the school.
• These examples show why it is important Indigenous people are part of identifying problems and priorities.

2. Who really has the power?

• However, governments and schools are hierarchical places that have typically not enabled Indigenous leadership in their structures.
• have an Aboriginal person that sits down and makes decisions with the principal […] including Elders […] basically empowering the community to have a say.

3. How involved are Indigenous peoples?

• Indigenous people are telling us there is an expectation mob are part of the process from the problem location to the evaluation of it’s success.
• But in our systematic literature review of 15 papers on co-design in Indigenous education, only six showed evidence of Indigenous engagement from the early design phase and on.

Where co-design could take us

• Our research is focused on consolidating the limited research we already have on co-design in Indigenous education and generating new, Indigenous and evidence-based understandings of co-design in schools.
• Marnee Shay is a member of the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education and Training Advisory Committee with the Department of Education Queensland.