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change in society. For example, St. George's House at Windsor in the UK
has an honourable history of hosting inspirational and productive events to
address complex issues in society. Since 1966 the members of St George's
House have invited people of influence (for example, national leaders, sen-
ior members of governments, of the armed forces, of emergency services,
leading figures in the voluntary sector, management and technical experts,
to name a few of the types of participants at past consultations), from all
parts of society to attend consultations on the challenges faced by today's
world. One example of a consultation convened in January 2004 sought
discussion on the 'Introduction of a Single Three-Digit Non-Emergency
Number for Accessing Local Services'. The consultation was chaired by
the Chairman of Motorola, with distinguished participants drawn from
local Councils, UK Youth, the Independent Police Complaints Commis-
sion, Help the Aged, academia, Government Departments (E-envoy, DTI,
Home Office and Crime Reduction), the National Farmers Union, the
Neighbourhood Watch Association, schools, the Jersey Ambulance Service,
the Strathclyde Fire Brigade, NATO Consultation, Command and Control
Agency, West Midlands Police, and the Diocese of Oxford. This particular
event resulted in a report which informed the deliberations of the Home
Office and the drafting of a consultative document published in 2005 (Of-
fice of Communications 2005).
Another UK institution which affords opportunities for debate and ex-
ploration of societal issues is Goodenough College, London (see: http://www.
goodenough.ac.uk/). As part of its mission as a college, it offers through
the medium of a conference series “
to debate issues of concern to the lead-
ership of the contemporary world
”. These allow complex real-world issues
and problems to be examined and appropriate actions and methods of ap-
proaching them to be considered and reported to inform planning and pol-
icy-making.
Although both of these examples are based in the UK, there are no
doubt equivalent institutions in other countries which host exploratory
consultative events which can lead to important initiatives being launched
in society. It is also the case that both St. George's House consultations
and Goodenough College's conferences and debates enjoy contributions of
participants from the wider international community.
Such consultations allow participants to discuss freely, in a congenial
environment away from day-to-day demands, major issues of social con-
cern. The generic objective of hosting such events is to contribute to the
betterment of a rapidly changing world through the publication of influential
reports and briefings for key people in positions of power. The participation
of key people who are in positions of authority where they can support and
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