Griffith University: Change Conference is back with a bang

Behaviour experts will converge on Griffith University’s South Bank campus as the Change Conference makes its comeback.

The conference moved online for the past two years due to the pandemic, but experts are champing at the bit to be back in person.

At a time when people are desperate for stability and change may seem futile, Social Marking @ Griffith Director Professor Sharyn Rundle-Thiele said COVID-19 taught us that people can come together and agree on what needs to happen in the face of a threat.

“We saw a lot of action and fast,” Professor Rundle-Thiele said.

“During the pandemic we learned we can move at a global level.

“Now that we know we can move any mountain, all we need to do is agree on an initial set of actions and from there we’ll know we can make any change we want to see as a global village.”

Change 2022, a two-day conference, hosted by Social Marketing @ Griffith, will deliver a blend of science, research and real-life case studies, demonstrating to participants how they can support change.

“The word change is used a lot and we need to be clear about what we mean,” Professor Rundle-Thiele said.

“Change can be applied for the common good, and in its simplest form the common good is about ensuring people’s health and wellbeing while simultaneously looking after the planet.”

Social marketing is used to campaign for positive change – like smoking cessation, reducing road toll or drink driving, recycling, or even protecting koala numbers.


Delegates will hear from experts in change.
Professor Rundle-Thiele said the biggest challenge to change is people themselves.

“In so many cases we do know what we need to do and for some reason we aren’t seeing positive changes happening fast enough,” she said.

“I think most of us want to make our world a better place and we shouldn’t be scared, or too tired, to make a few positive changes that leave us feeling better while also helping our environment.

“It is important find what will move and motivate most to step up and make a difference and sometimes the solutions aren’t what we know.

“People really are the experts of their own world and its incumbent on us all to operate with a reflexive approach and work with people. Bringing people with you really is the way to go.”