Outdoor Leaders Australia

Another project you might be interested in checking out:

https://sites.google.com/view/outdoor-leaders-australia/

A proposal for an association for trained outdoor professionals. The goal: "A diverse community of engaged professionals collaboratively seeking to improve the outdoor sector and the impact it has in the community."

I’m concerned that outdoor leaders in Australia don’t have a collective voice. And I’m concerned that all of the conversations that are about the future of the outdoor industry (generally) and outdoor employees (specifically) are conversations that don’t have outdoor leaders in the room.

I’m convinced that outdoor leaders need a voice in the conversations that impact them. And I think that the best mechanism for this to occur is for outdoor leaders need a seat at the table of the peak bodies in every state, and in the OCA.

I had too much spare time on my hands and I came up with a proposal.

It’s a professional association. (Not a union.)

It’s just a draft. It’s just an idea. But I’m throwing it out for this community’s consideration.

A few notes:

- I am conscious that the idea has been almost entirely drafted by me alone (with various plagiarised bits), and that for this to succeed it must be owned and developed by the people who it is intended for. But at the same time I know that a collective voice for outdoor leaders has been talked about for over a decade and nothing has occurred. My suspicion is that it is easier to have a robust conversation when there’s a fixed reference point to argue for or against.

- I’m not wedded to this particular solution, but I am committed to ensuring that outdoor leaders have a voice in conversations that impact upon them. If you think this idea is going in the wrong direction then I’d love to know that.

- A seat at the table of the peak bodies around Australia is key. The outdoor industry will only succeed (where many other industries have failed) if employees and employers are on the same team – allied in achieving their joint purposes. I’m not naïve – there will always be push and pull – but there is no need to be adversarial.