Rotary Melbourne is delighted to announce that Dr Doug Hilton AO has accepted the Club’s invitation to be the eighth Orator to commemorate the life and works of our Past President Thomas Baker and will speak on the topic 'If science is to save us'.
Dr Hilton last year took up his current role, as CSIRO CEO, after 14 years as Director of the renowned Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, leading the WEHI’s medical research activities for the benefit of the community.”
The 2024 Thomas Baker Oration will take place on Wednesday 24 April on the 1stlevel at Sofitel on Collins over lunch time. Please reserve this date in your calendars.
Synopsis:
So many extraordinary forces are today in play – from climate change to the loss of biodiversity to the threat of pandemic to the rapid rise of technologies like AI and quantum.
Also in play are corrosive threats to the nuance of social discourse, conspiracy theories and alternative facts that can mean it’s only acceptable to hold one of two polar opposite views, where doubt is seen as weakness, and where changing your mind a broken promise.
Navigating these challenges, and making the best decisions, depends on public attitudes, so it’s critically important the community understands why science – built on a bedrock of facts, good governance, ethics and integrity - is different from religion or politics or opinion or social media.
Trust in science isn’t just a theoretical issue. It matters profoundly because science is the compass we need to navigate humanity's greatest challenges and the key to a world full of meaning, discovery, intensity and wonder.
