The closed captioned video below is from our September 23, 2026 event at the Byron Bay RSL.

Following on from our talk by Geraldine Doogue, Byron Philo Café was honoured to host another prominent public intellectual – Dr Simon Longstaff AO who addressed us on the topic: Leadership in the Current World.

As the executive director of the Sydney Ethics Centre, Dr Longstaff has been a significant voice for change in Australia, working to improve ethical standards in governance, business and society.

He is also the founder of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, an even bolder forum of provocative public Debate. Earlier this year he took over as Chair of Primary Ethics, which brings the study of ethics to children in NSW public schools.
Simon has a PhD in Philosophy from Cambridge University, was the inaugural President of The Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics and is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum.

In this time of political instability and declining trust in institutions across every sector of society, Simon helps to promote the importance of clear and critical thinking and of connecting with each other to strengthen our shared human values.