Australia’s media leaders and assistant minister for citizenship and multicultural affairs, the Hon Julian Hill MP will gather at Nine’s North Sydney headquarters for the Media Diversity Australia’s (MDA) annual industry round table on Friday.
This year’s event will bring together an expanded group of senior representatives from leading media organisations, including new members such as ARE Media, Junkee Media, Women’s Agenda, National Indigenous Times, Hachette Publishing, and Netflix.
MDA is committed to driving sector-wide change by fostering discussions around diversity, inclusion, and equity and will build on the momentum of last year’s inaugural round table hosted at SBS.
Assistant minister Hill will deliver a keynote address, followed by a thought leadership panel discussion moderated by Nine’s Sarah Abo and featuring AFL DEI executive Tanya Hosch.
Executives from Nine, SBS, ABC, Seven, AAP, The Guardian, The Conversation Media Group, ARE Media, Junkee Media, Netflix, Women’s Agenda, National Indigenous Times, and more will attend.
Industry-wide guest representatives will also attend the first part of the event, including representatives from the Federal and State Governments, Free TV, AFL, Google, Meta, Walkley Foundation, Women in Media, and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
The closed-door round table will include discussions around key challenges, barriers, and action plans, that aim to build on the outcomes from the seven working group meetings held over the past year.
The second part of the event featuring the round table will involve a Chatham house event discussion focusing on critical industry challenges and opportunities, including industry collaboration, inclusion practices, talent pipeline, retention and cultural safety, navigating lived experience and impartiality, and capability building and DEI surveys.
Mariam Veiszadeh, CEO of Media Diversity Australia, said: “There’s no denying that the sector has faced some complex challenges in the last 18 months which have only further highlighted the critical role diversity, equity and inclusion needs to play in the long-term sustainability of our sector.
“This year’s round table is an opportunity to confront these realities head-on and to reaffirm our shared responsibility to create a more inclusive media landscape. It’s only by working together that we can truly drive the meaningful, lasting change our industry needs.”