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Jen Aughterson

I was born in Melbourne, but having lived overseas on occasion from a young age, as well as a long stint in country Victoria, I have never considered myself a ‘typical’ Melburnian.

My impression of Melbourne?

Diversity in the weather aside, I keenly appreciate the other aspects of diversity that Melbourne represents, especially its truly multifaceted and diverse community.

For me there isn’t an obvious, concrete element that makes Melbourne special, but rather a more subtle combination that relates to the diversity of people living here, and the depth and breadth of potential that this brings with it.

The diversity of our people brings diversity in all aspects of our city, and especially brings a broad sense of perspective that I value greatly. This multiplicity brings language, culture, food, art, and most importantly different ways of thinking and living. I think Melbourne is a place that lives, breathes and celebrates this openness to new ideas, and we readily take on novel ideas and challenges that result in synergistic outcomes both for our city and our people.

The city acts as an incubator, facilitating the growth of diverse, grassroots ideas through to tangible achievements that may have local or world-wide significance. It also promotes and shapes business ideas, supports artistic endeavour and encourages the celebration of our culture/s and history, placing priority on sharing knowledge and understanding about our natural and built environment. We bring our own diverse ideas on how to live life, but the city facilitates, supports and nurtures us to thrive.

Two projects on which I am working are local examples of grassroots innovation with an eye on the wider world, and nurtured by a city that isn’t scared to ‘think outside the square’. These are:

• METI, a Future Focus Group initiative supported by the Committee for Melbourne, has at its core the mobile distribution of real-time transport information to assist people with a vision impairment to tackle public transport confidently and independently. I am very passionate about public transport in general. Making our public transport more accessible to more people is a small project with big potential, and Melbourne is the right place to grow this kind of idea, and

• The Robin Boyd Foundation which is about deepening our understanding of design and the benefits of design in our lives. It is a chance for us to be inspired, and to look at our environment with new eyes and think a little differently. At the heart of this project is culture change, providing a forum for debate of who we are and who we want to be.

Melbourne is home to a diverse range of people and a plethora of creative ideas, The city is our canvas.

You will notice I haven’t mentioned sport yet. As I said, I don’t always feel like the typical Melburnian, but perhaps the beauty of Melbourne is that we aren’t a ‘typical’ bunch...

Ms. Jen Aughterson is a current participant of the Future Focus Group and a member of the METI syndicate.