Ethical Decision-Making Seminar "Lifts the Lid"

The ethical and moral challenges facing cadets at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) and Australia’s eight leading universities were the focus of a three-day seminar held at ADFA in May.

The seminar was initiated by the ‘Linking with Universities’ forum which has ADFA working with Australia’s Group of Eight universities to address critical issues facing young men and women at the institutions, particularly in their residential environments.

With a target audience of ‘future leaders of our nation’ 50 delegates attended the seminar, which was hosted by the ADFA Commandant, Commodore Bruce Kafer.

“The seminar recognized that there are significant ethical and moral challenges common to all Australian learning institutions particularly those with live-in students.

“While the Skype incident focused attention on ADFA similar challenges exist in university campuses across the country so a common theme in the Forum was students ethics, or their ‘moral compass’,” Commodore Kafer said.

The seminar also explored many of the ethical issues raised in the ‘Review into the Treatment of Women at ADFA’ by the Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick. A member of the Broderick review team attended the seminar, with the support of the Saint James Ethics Centre a key to its success.

ADFA Officer Cadet Kurt Menzies said the young men and women representing the various colleges and universities were of the highest calibre.

“The presence of a diverse range of backgrounds resulted in various opinions, values and beliefs being brought to the discussion. Highly intellectual, and at times fervent, debate was a feature of the seminar. Not only was the discussion of ethics and leadership highly beneficial for my own professional development, it was also hugely morally and personally satisfying”.

The seminar program included discussions on ‘The Ethical Use of Social Media’, ‘Sexual Ethics: Respectful and Healthy Relationships’ and ‘Ethical Leadership.’

Ethical Decision-Making Seminar "Lifts the Lid"
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