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speakers 5
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TAN LE
- Participated in Ideas at the Powerhouse sessions:
- 'Young
people inherit the world like a straitjacket'
- 1pm, Friday, August 17
What are we
doing with our ideas?
- 11am, Thursday, August 16
"At the moment young people inherit the world
like a straitjacket - a tight, restrictive place that
must be fitted into, conformed to and perpetuated.
A place whose presumptions, values, goals and processes
are given and not questioned. A world that comes to
them on terms that are so embedded that they seem
to be part of the way things are. Of course the terms
are not. They are a result of human decisions and
values. They have been chosen. And the human that
will choose them is no different to the human that
can change them."
Tan Le, 'How the young can free us from our straitjacket',
The Age, Friday 12 March 1999
Tan Le, the Young Australian of the Year for 1998,
arrived in Australia with her family at the age of four
as a refugee from Vietnam. She grew up, and still resides
in, Footscray where she has devoted herself to community
service. At 15 she joined the Vietnamese Community of
Footscray Association, which was established to provide
training and find employment for Vietnamese Australians.
Tan was President within three years and proceeded to
put in place a number of new training and employment
initiatives, as well as a program to provide counselling
and refuge services for Vietnamese women. The Australian
Vietnamese Services Resource Centre, as it is known,
is regarded as one of the most effective Vietnamese
community organisations in Australia.
Her appointments include:
- Member of the Australian Citizenship Council, chaired
by Sir Ninian Stephen;
- Member of Centre for the Mind, Australian National
University;
- Member of 'A Fair Go For All', the National Committee
for Human Rights Education in Australia;
- National Ambassador for Aboriginal Reconciliation;
- National Ambassador for National Youth Media Awards,
a Commonwealth Government initiative (DETYA);
- Patron of the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development
Program, a Commonwealth Government initiative (DFAT).
Appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for Australia to Malaysia,
China, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam during December
and January 1998-99, Tan travelled to Asia sponsored
by the Images of Australia Unit, Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade.
Awarded a KPMG Accounting Scholarship in 1997, she
completed a Commerce and Law degree with Honours from
Monash University in 1998 and was admitted as a barrister
and solicitor in early 2000. Tan is currently Business
Development Director, SASme Wireless Communications.Philip
Nitschke - 'There is little point in trying to ban,
legislate against, or censure those activities of members
of society that do no harm to others.'
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GEORGE LEWIN
- Participated in Ideas at the Powerhouse session:
- The Idea
that changes your life
- 10.30am, Saturday, August 18
A former journalist, George Lewin's invention is a
one-in-a-million success story. His interest in woodwork
turned into a multimillion dollar business. While working
on his first woodwork project in 1975, he developed
the basic idea of the Triton saw bench to solve problems
he experienced while cutting. Within a matter of months
Lewin had built a number of prototypes and applied for
a Provisional Patent.
Like many inventors, Lewin experienced difficulties
marketing the Triton Bench to manufacturers and distributors.
In 1976, after a year of trying to market his invention,
he secured loans to self-manufacture a pilot batch of
components for 100 units which he finished and assembled
at home. After an appearance on the ABC program, The
Inventors, he started full-scale manufacture of the
Triton Bench from home. Despite this initial stage being
a "nightmare", Lewin sold his first batch
of the benches to viewers of the television program
as well as to several major retail chains. Further interest
in the bench was generated when he appeared in the Grand
Final of Invention of the Year on the ABC.
Between 1977 and 1999, Lewin built up Triton from his
tiny backyard operation into a 100% Australian hardware
success story, with a staff of over 100 and an annual
turnover of $20 million from domestic and export markets.
More than 350,000 Triton Workcentres, plus about 2 million
accessory products were sold during these years with
total sales approaching $300 million. Lewin had created
a minor revolution in D-I-Y in Australia and in key
export markets.
In the middle of this period of growth for his company,
Lewin "decided to reinvent myself, bought a house
near Byron Bay in Northern New South Wales and began
reducing my involvement in the day-to-day running of
the companies." By 1999, he decided to sell all
Triton assets to Hills Industries Ltd. The following
year, Lewin launched the concept of the Triton Foundation
and The Clever Country TM television series at the National
Innovation Summit. Within two months of that announcement,
the first meeting of the Inaugural Board of the Triton
Foundation was called.
George Lewin is the recipient of:
- National Small Business Award, 1984
- Australian Marketing Institute Award, 1985
- National Export Award, 1986
- Best Foreign Product Canadian Hardware Show, 1986
- BHP Award - Special Commendation, 1992
- Gold Medal International Exposition of Inventions,
Geneva, 1997
- Australian Design Mark, 1997
- Melbourne Business Awards - Business of the Year,
1997
- Australian Hardware Journal Product of the Year,
1992/97
- Australian Marketing Award for Excellence, 2000
- Advancing Australian Small Business Award
The Triton Foundation's website can be found at http://www.triton.net.au
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