Futures Forum As most of you would be aware, the Futures Forum has been the main representation body for the NGO sector in Queensland for a number of years. Futures Forum was established to bring together the collective voice of the sector and to position the sector to work more strategically with governments and other stakeholders.
YANQ played a key role in establishing the Futures Forum and in some of its major work, including the compact with State Goverment. One of the reasons the Forum was established was because of the widely held concern that at times there is a conflict between the interest of individual peaks and the interest of the sector. This was echoed in early 2011 when Futures Forum members voted to create the position of co-chair for the Forum, as the Queensland Council of Social Services (QCOSS) had assumed the role of permanent chair. Later in 2011, YANQ was voted in by the Forum to the position of co-chair. The majority of Forum members who had voted YANQ had high expectations from YANQ to bring a level of transparency and collective decision-making to the Forum.
Over the past year, YANQ has acted on this responsibility vested in us by the community sector in Queensland. In particular, YANQ has strived to be a strong advocacy voice in the Futures Forum for small organisations, and since the March Queensland election, a strong advocate for collective action by the Futures Forum against cuts to the sector.