Storytelling is the core of the political profession according to Tim Watts MP it is driven by narratives and passions #ThinkWest2016

When an idea is thought, written and spoken it becomes real, and that is the power of poetry says Alia Gabres #ThinkWest2016

Art helps Tim Watts MP empathise. To engage with the fundamental human desire to share yourself and be understood #ThinkWest2016

Nationalism and national identity is not bad if you use it to build a welfare state and not for exclusionary purposes says Tim Watts MP

A lot of the national symbols we have, the flag and our currency, are exclusionary. Artists can help us shift our symbols #ThinkWest2016

The purpose of Keating's Creative Nation policy, was to allow the arts to help create a national identity of our modern multicultural nation

Paul Keating described leadership at the combination of courage and imagination #ThinkWest2016

When Martin Luther King was shot and killed, Bobby Kennedy turned to poetry for consolation and empathy #ThinkWest2016

Bobby Kennedy in Indianapolis youtu.be/GoKzCff8Zbs #ThinkWest2016

The sense of localness in the West is multi-ethnic. The only people who aren't locals are those who have moved here with gentrification

The locus of community in the west can also be shared experiences, like the refugee experience #ThinkWest2016

The concept of intersectionality is a global one that through the online community has now found a place in the west #ThinkWest2016

The internet has allowed us to form groups around much more niche interests and experiences #ThinkWest2016

There is a strange dissonance between Australia's political apathy and our growing volunteerism #ThinkWest2016

Thank you to our panel for leading us through this discussion on politics, poetry, community and social change #ThinkWest2016

The view for tonight's Think West Welcome Dinner! Can't wait to meet everyone and hear stories from Kon Karapanagiotidis Think West 2017 ASRC Tsol

The extraordinary Kon Karapanagiotidis telling stories of food, culture and connection Think West 2017

"Our natural state is love" 近藤耕一郎 WDP

Closing the Festival with hearts (and bellies) full. Thank you WDP #thinkwest2016

"As humans, our natural state is love" 近藤耕一郎 WDP #welcomedinner