Tune in to Wil Anderson’s Canberra talk-fest

Posted on 21 October, 2020

The comedy star is hosting a University of Canberra Facebook Live event.

Wil Anderson is known for his dark humour, acerbic wit and a cynical streak that has taken him around the world on the comedy circuit.

But if you ask him “is our future bright?” he is surprisingly upbeat.

“Yes, it can be bright if we stand up and demand that it is. We have no other choice.”

Wil will be providing his philosophical insights and comedic leanings to a Canberra audience for a special University of Canberra (UC) event next month.

UC is turning 30 this year, and in true Millennial style, it’s pondering the big issues.

“Is our future bright?” is the topic of live talk-fest and Facebook Live event which Wil host on Friday 6 November.

A limited and socially-distanced audience at The Street Theatre has already sold out, but the event will be broadcast across Facebook and will take online questions.

Wil is a former UC alumnus, having completed a Bachelor of Arts in Communications Degree in 1995.

As a kid from country Victoria and a town with no more than 250 people, Wil remembers his first O-Week when he saw Helen Razer and Mikey Robins broadcast a Triple J show at the Uni Bar.

While he specialised in journalism at UC, the seed had been sewn and Wil moved into stand-up and radio, and would go onto host the Gruen Transfer, which coincidentally has just begin its 12^th season on ABC.

Wil says there has never been a better time than now to ask the big questions—about education, the role of universities, the climate, the country, and the world.

“I think we can all agree the house has been knocked down right now, and we have this opportunity to rebuild. But we need to ask, do we want it built the same was as beforehand, which quite frankly had some asbestos in the walls, and not everyone had a bed…Or do we want to take this opportunity to put some solar panels on the roof and add a few more bedrooms?”

“There will always be vested interests that tell us we can’t, but it’s time to have these conversations—and to listen to the experts.”

Wil will host a panel of UC experts including Chief Executive Officer of The Mill House Social Enterprise Accelerator, and Social Impact Strategist for the Faculty of Business, Government and Law Cindy Mitchell, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Design and pop culture aficionado Professor Jason Bainbridge, UC Head of the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Public Health and aged care researcher, Professor Karen Strickland, and Clinical Associate Professor and Co-Director of the ACT Affiliated Schools Program, Kerrie Heath.

Belinda Robinson, Vice-President University Relations and Strategy, said “Future Bright is a free online public event that encapsulates our dynamic, young university and our city—smart, engaging, community-focused, fun and progressive–and celebrates our past, present and future.

“It is a fitting event as we celebrate 30 years as the University of Canberra.”

As the city navigates the challenges that COVID has presented for its health system, education institutions and the role of the arts, the panel tackles the tough questions about Canberra’s future.

Do we need to value our health care frontline workers more? Why are the humanities so important to humanity? How can education continue to develop in an online world? How does a social conscience inform the future? And what do our students think—is their future bright?

UnCover Events are a series of public activations, bringing the expertise of UC’s Canberra-based academics to the community.

“The University of Canberra was established to specifically serve the needs of the ACT and surrounding regions for higher education and it has delivered on its promise to our unique city for the past 30 years,” said Belinda.

“And now we look to the future of our city and the surrounding region in the context of the extraordinary events of 2020, and how we can continue to be intertwined in the fabric of Canberra to provide an incubation for innovation, question the status quo and provide progressive solutions for our future.”

Questions will be fielded from both the live audience and from the online audience and music will be performed by Alice Ivy.