Symposium Stage Welcomes Dignitary from Down Under

We have been introducing several incredible leaders and experts in classical education who will be speaking at the 2024 National Symposium for Classical Education on March 20-22 at the Phoenix Convention Center, hosted by the Great Hearts Institute. We are particularly excited to announce the latest addition to the lineup, the Honorable Anthony J. Abbott, former Prime Minister of Australia.

Mr. Abbott served as the 28th Prime Minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He was Leader of the center-right Liberal Party of Australia from 2009 to 2015 and a member of parliament from 1994 to 2019.

Since leaving frontline politics, Mr. Abbott has been a pivotal figure in the founding and flourishing of the Ramsay Center for Western Civilisation, which promotes the study and discussion of Western civilization, through scholarships, educational partnerships, and events. In addition, he is the Chairman of Australia’s foremost cultural and literary journal, Quadrant, and serves on the Advisory Board of The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship, the Council for the Australian War Memorial, and the Board of Directors for Fox Corporation.

He is the author of three books: The Minimal Monarchy (1995), How to win the Constitutional War (1997) and Battlelines(2009). His columns regularly appear in newspapers and journals across the Anglosphere.

Mr. Abbott holds Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of Sydney and attended The Queens College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, receiving a B.A. in philosophy and politics.

Helen Baxendale, Chief of Staff at Great Hearts Academies, had the opportunity to work with Abbott early in her career in Australia, her home country. “Working for Mr. Abbott alongside my undergraduate studies was not just an education in frontline politics, it was also something of a crash course in the Western canon,” said Baxendale. She recalled that while Abbott wrote his own speeches, she was tasked with assembling the notes. “[It] often involved checking quotes from the likes of Samuel Johnson, Tolstoy, Churchill, Chesterton, Oakeshott, and Waugh, and not infrequently launched me on very welcome diversions from my formal studies.”

Abbott’s keynote address at the Symposium is titled, “Classical Education: Cultivating the Leaders the World Needs,” where he will discuss how the West is suffering from a crisis of confidence and leadership. A symptom and cause of this malaise is the demoralization of our education systems. The incipient return of classical education to Western classrooms promises to restore morale and morality to Western societies. Mr. Abbott’s talk will reflect on the consolation and counsel that the Great Books have offered him throughout his leadership career and make the case for classical education as the means to cultivate the leaders that the world needs.

You can watch Mr. Abbott talk about “The Foundations of Western Civilisation” below.

Don’t miss the rare opportunity to hear from Abbott along with and other inspiring and informative speakers on March 20-22, 2024 at the Phoenix Convention Center, where they will each be giving their unique talks during the National Symposium for Classical Education. Registration is NOW LIVE! Secure your spot with the exclusive early bird special – $50 off for individuals and groups of five or more. This offer ends January 10^th, 2024.

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The Symposium will focus on renewing the Great Conversation concerning great works and perennial ideas. This year we will underscore the importance of teaching and modeling the conversations that lead to insight–among colleagues, between teachers and students, with families, and across our communities. At a time when our society most needs genuine dialogue, classical schools provide a sanctuary of genuine civility. Join us to discover how classical education embodies the good conversations, providing both the means and the model for a more civil society.

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