No 118: #SoNotCrap

Last year East Gippsland Water, the water corporation that serves the community 5 hours’ drive east of Melbourne, held a series of open days across all their 20 treatment sites. Only 40 people turned up. It highlighted the perennial problem water utilities have of how to engage with the communities they serve.

#SoNotCrap is the brainchild of Sue O Connor. Its aim is to initiate a conversation between communities and their local water corporations on how they can work together to protect the local environment. Sue won’t thank me for saying this but if you passed her in the street you might mistake her for an elderly aunt. The sort of person who might fill their days playing bridge or tending their garden. This would be a dangerously wrong assumption. She is an eclectic mix of both fiery, astute, and highly vocal water board director and a vibrant, passionate photo-artist.

With the support of Bruce Hammond, the CEO for East Gippsland Water, Sue developed the #SoNotCrap campaign; an exhibition to highlight how East Gipps Water protects its local environment. The launch event was held in an old water tower in Bairnsdale, with the art-video projected onto the walls of the building. The campaign was a great success, not least due to its quirky title. Radio stations tens of thousands of miles away reported on the story. I particularly loved the fact that the launch event was delayed because a pair of peregrine falcons were nesting in the water tower.

Building on the success Sue now plans to hold a #SoNotCrapAsia event, working with organisations across the Philippines, Korea and China to highlight what water corporations are doing to protect the wetlands vital to migrating birds.

I have been in Melbourne for the annual VicWater conference. This year marks the 20^th anniversary for the Victorian Water Association. I was invited to give the key-note address, which was a quirky hour-long  presentation entitled ‘Be Careful What you Wish For’. I briefly worried my presentation was a little too quirky, but this is Australia. They embrace quirky here.  

For example, at last nights’ gala dinner I sat on the table with the newly appointed Minister for Water (actually the Minister for Department of Environment Land Water and Planning, catchily called ‘DELWP’…which is difficult to say without making the ‘W’ sound silent). As a labour minister she quizzed me intensely on UK water privatisation. And then, between the starter and main course she took to the stage and gave a 20 minute head-to-head interview, flipping comfortably between laddish banter on some local sporting triumph (way over my head, but Aussies do love their sport) and the serious issue of gender equity. Quirky.

This was followed by a Vietnamese magician-cum-entrepreneur (Vinh Giang) who mixed management teachings with jaw-dropping illusions. The night closed with a corporate sponsor managing to combine the charity raffle with the most blatant, confident and amusing self-promotion I have ever experienced. They like quirky here. No wonder #SoNotCrap worked so well.

I love Australia. I love Australians. Type #SoNotCrap into YouTube to learn more.