1.11The Board has adopted a strategic framework to assist with developing its proposals. The importance of a strategic framework is that it transparently sets out what the Board believes should be the underlying rationale and values that shape and focus the Centenary program, not only in its development but also in its implementation. The framework includes:
three objectives that the Board considers should be achieved by the Centenary program
a set of essential principles.
1.12A diagram outlining the steps involved in developing the Anzac Centenary program, including the Board’s strategic framework, is depicted in Figure 1.
Objectives
1.13The Board’s three proposed objectives for the program are:
Education: an improved understanding of Australians’ experience of war, ranging from matters of national strategy to impacts on families and individuals
Engagement: greater personal connection to the service, sacrifice and other experiences of war of Australian servicemen and servicewomen, especially through commemorative and community involvement
Empowerment: greater capacity for communities and individuals to commemorate the Anzac Centenary in ways of their own choosing.
1.14The overwhelming majority of the Board’s proposals contribute to more than one of these objectives, expanding their benefits. For example, the proposal for a travelling exhibition delivers educational benefits and also seeks to engage local communities and empower them to contribute their own physical artefacts, histories and memories for local exhibitions. These three objectives will be achieved by three broad streams of activity:
education and research
commemoration
arts and culture.
1.15These streams provide focus to the two parallel themes that shape and organise the commemorations. These themes are Rabaul to Return to cover the First World War and Century of Service to cover Australia’s other involvement in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations from the Boer War to the present.
1.16The Board emphasises the critical importance it places on engaging and empowering communities and individual Australians to participate in their own ways in the Anzac Centenary. For it is by participation that the Anzac inheritance may be passed onto future generations. A great many of the proposals and recommendations contained in this report seek to engage and empower Australians to become involved in the Centenary.
Principles
1.17The following principles have been developed by the Board and used in devising and assessing its recommended program:
preserve the sanctity of the Anzac legacy and uphold the core traditions of Anzac
commemorate and improve awareness and understanding of the service, sacrifice and experiences of Australian servicemen and servicewomen at war, in and after the First World War and over a Century of Service
be innovative, where appropriate, in improving awareness, understanding and outreach
balance ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ initiatives, supporting national initiatives and also empowering local communities to commemorate in ways of their choosing
seek to engage all Australians, wherever they live, including rural and regional communities, with a personalised experience
remember and commemorate the Anzac history, traditions and legacy Australia shares with New Zealand, and improve understanding of the importance and vitality in the modern world of this special relationship
provide well-designed, targeted and implementable proposals that represent value for money
leave an enduring and unifying legacy for current and future generations.
1.18If the program that is implemented meets these principles well and is focused on the outcomes of education, engagement and empowerment, then the Board believes that commemoration of the Centenary will be successful and a source of pride for Australians. There is still a substantial task ahead in delivering the program but the plan of action has been rigorously developed.
Figure 1 Anzac Centenary program
Consultation, participation and deliberation
1.19The Board’s work to date has seen it involved heavily in the tasks of consultation, participation and deliberation:
Consultation. The Board has consulted widely with the community and business sectors, other stakeholders and key international parties (see Appendix 3 for a summary of Board consultations). Stakeholders have been engaged at the highest level of the states and territories and in the larger regional centres.
Participation. The Board and its working groups have actively participated with a number of Centenary stakeholders to generate possible proposals in areas of perceived need, and to modify and distil other proposals to improve their value. This has included integrating separate but related proposals into a more coherent and cost-effective option. An example of this is the proposed Anzac Centenary education and research program of activities.
Deliberation. This has involved the Board’s consideration of the numerous proposals that it has received against its strategic framework. Inevitably, this has meant a considerable number of proposals have not been recommended, or have been amalgamated into more strategic options. The Board has provided ongoing advice to the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Centenary of Anzac relating to its deliberations, key outcomes and recommendations from each of the Board’s eight meetings to February 2013.
