ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess AM will deliver the keynote address at the South Australian component of the Australian-first two-day, two-state Social Media Summit on 11 October.

The South Australian component of the Summit will be hosted and moderated in Adelaide by renowned author and journalist Annabel Crabb, following the NSW Government’s sessions in Sydney the day before.

The South Australian Summit will open with a video presentation by influential social psychologist and international bestselling author Jonathan Haidt, whose book The Anxious Generation provides an insightful investigation into the collapse of youth mental health.

The Summit will also hear a message from former Chief Justice of the High Court the Honourable Robert French AC discussing his recent report, commissioned by the South Australian government, outlining a legislative vehicle to ban children under the age of 14 from accessing social media.

As the head of Australia’s security service, Mike Burgess (pictured right) will outline how threats to Australia’s security are enabled and accelerated by social media and share deep concerns about the number of minors in ASIO’s counter-terrorism caseload.

Ms Crabb (pictured right) will lead two expert solution panel discussions addressing the areas of regulatory and legislative protection, and public health, prevention and education. The first panel will feature:

• President of Children and Media Australia and constitutional law expert Professor Elizabeth Handsley
• Experienced educator and incoming Chief Executive of SA Secondary Schools Association Kirsty Amos
• Founder and CEO of The Carly Ryan Foundation Sonya Ryan
• Co-founder of Wait Mate and concerned parent Jessica Mendoza-Roth

The second panel, focussed on public health, prevention and education will feature:

• Clinic Director of Advanced Psychology Services and Senior Research Fellow in Psychology at Flinders University Simon Wilksch, who is dedicated to reducing the burden of eating disorders and other mental health problems
• Adjunct Fellow at the School of Psychological Sciences Macquarie University Dr Danielle Einstein, who is a registered clinical psychologist internationally known for her research on anxiety and adolescent social media use
• St Ignatius’ College Principal Lauren Brooks, who is passionate about working alongside its students to shape the future, together

The day will also feature a Q and A discussion with representatives from The Advertiser Teen Parliament.

In the leadup to the summit South Australians are being encouraged to share their views on social media via this survey (external site) (external site)(external site) (external site) (external site) (external site).  Insights from this survey will be used to inform discussions at the South Australian chapter of the summit.

Both days of the Social Media Summit will be livestreamed. For more information and further program updates, click here. (external site) (external site) (external site) (external site)