Celebrating success is the way ahead

The need for a big investment in education emerged as a strong theme, observes ELLEN READ.

A ministry of growth, adoption of the United States dollar and a big education investment are vital if New Zealand is to become a successful knowledge economy.

These ideas emerged at the end of the Catching the Knowledge Wave conference yesterday, where participants agreed that NZ needed to encourage and celebrate success.

The three-day conference, attended by 450 invited guests, many of whom were international specialists in their fields, laid particular stress on national numeracy, literacy and e-literacy levels.

The enactment or success of any of the recommendations is not assured. The conference's achievement will depend on what happens from here.

Recommendations from the conference were grouped under the five themes which had flowed through the meeting - innovation and creativity, people and capability, sustainable economic strategies, entrepreneurship and social dynamism and knowledge opportunities.

Suggestions included:

* Create a culture that celebrates success and achievement in innovation by things such as a "Proud to be a Kiwi" campaign.

* Develop a superlative education system which respects, rewards and develops teachers.

* Lift the status of teachers and re-examine the opportunities and incentives available - introducing teaching "Oscars", for instance.

* Increase opportunities created from NZ's expatriate community by forming expatriate databases and establishing a special website - make fuller use of immigration as a source for talent.

* Create a national balanced scorecard to track our economic success.

* Expand the size of the NZ market by pursuing foreign direct investment, consider adopting the US dollar and pursuing free trade agreements.

* Create the world's most inviting but sustainable business environment by creating a proactive investment promotion agency.

* Streamline and redefine central and local government.

* Create 100 new, high-growth business ventures each year via an annual business creation competition offering $100 million in prizes.

* Establish two or three social venture-capital funds within 18 months.

* Build the infrastructure to support participation by all New Zealanders in a knowledge society by things such as achieving broadband connectivity to every home, school, business and public entity.

* Get the Government to establish a national economic and social council representing all interests.

Conference speakers and participants had "spoken for New Zealand in a way that I believe we need to carry forward if we are to succeed," Professor Bryan Gould, chairman of the people and capability workshop, told the final session.

"We need ... to revalue knowledge [and] ... recognise and reward those who think for New Zealand."

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