Defence

Feature

Making friends and influencing people

Kathryn Fitch talks to Allison Taylor about her participation in the Defence Management Seminar recently held in Canberra.

Secretary of Defence Ric Smith with attendees of the Defence Management Seminar recently held in Canberra.

"They were just a really nice, giving, generous group of people. I had a ball talking to different people from different countries and learning about different cultures", Allison Taylor, Policy Officer for the Malaysia Desk in International Policy Division, says.

Allison recently attended the Defence Management Seminar (DMS), which is run twice a year and aims to give the 40 delegates a good understanding of the way Australia manages Defence processes and outcomes.

During the course of the DMS, delegates - who came from a wide variety of countries including Iraq, Pakistan, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, East Timor, New Zealand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Tonga and Fiji - attended sessions with the Chief of the Defence Force, Secretary, Chief of Air Force, Chief of Army, Deputy Chief of Navy and other Group Heads.

Presentations covering a range of topics, such as the importance of capability to strategic policy, the role of intelligence services in the information age, and education and training in the ADF, were among the other highlights in the Seminar program. Foreign delegates also presented to the DMS on the defence organisations of their own countries.

Not that the DMS is all about spending time in a conference venue - there were also field trips to cultural and military institutions like the Australian War Memorial and the Australian National Museum in Canberra, and the Opera House, HMAS Kuttabul and Victoria Barracks in Sydney.

"It was largely about saying to delegates, this is the Australian Defence Organisation, and this is what we do", says Ms Taylor.

"I think if people left the course with a basic understanding of what we do in Defence, and have a positive image of Australia and Australians, then the Seminar has done 90 per cent of its work really."

"Some of the delegates may be in a position of power at some point. If somewhere along the way they have had good interaction with Australia and Australians, then perhaps they will be more disposed to being more involved - even if it's just through a bilateral relationship," she says.

Sponsored by International Policy Division in Strategy Group, the DMS revolves around presentations and discussions related to the development and delivery of Defence capabilities. DMS also aims to give delegates the opportunity to build networks that facilitate cooperation in future years. According to Ms Taylor, it works.

In fact, representatives in a Thai delegation visiting Australia while the DMS was taking place, had met their Australian counterparts previously at a DMS, so they had an instant rapport.

"One of the things I really enjoyed was the overview of Defence - it put together more of the jigsaw for me. The other thing was engaging with the people in attendance. I just like to pin them down and talk to them, to find out about their country, their culture," Ms Taylor says.

"Overall, I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was a fantastic experience," she says.

The Defence Management Seminar is held twice yearly in March and October.

For further information, please contact Doug Steele (02) 6265 6010.

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