Australia takingadvantage of the Asian century is evidently the greatest political and economicstep for the country.

As is evident, Australia’s involvement as a nation isincreasing more and more with Asia culturally and economically. This action, willhave a guaranteed effect on the country. Altering the countries cultural identityto in turn take advantage of the Asian century is a vital path for the successfulnessof the nation’s economic progress.  One ofthe greatest paths to continuous change in cultural identity is with education,also referred to as “Asia literacy” which can be summed up as the study ofskills, histories, cultures and geographies of the Asia region (Leong 2017). WhyAustralia and how it should continue to change its cultural identity will be explainedfurther in the following paragraphs.    It is clear that Asia has an enormousinfluence on the world and especially on Australia.

Asia is home to two –thirds of the worlds people and with time it will soon enough become thelargest producer and consumer in the world (Australian curriculum) Australia iscurrently tied to Asia mostly through trade as almost 71% of Australia’sexports are from Asia (Australian curriculum) this is clear evidence and reasonas to why Australia needs to continue to change and alter its cultural identityto take better advantage of the Asian century as the economic gain forAustralia through its engagement with Asia is undeniable (Australian curriculum)Asia has already changed and benefited the Australian economy which is why weshould see our regional location and the Asian century as an opportunity andgrasp every benefit of it. The global Centre of the world is steering to ourregion,  according to Henry (2012) “thetyranny of distance is being replaced by the prospects of proximity”, thereforeit is clear that Australia, the lucky country, is located in the right place atthe right time, in the Asian region in the Asian century, so why not takeadvantage and thrive for a stronger nation. (Henry 2012)   In order to strengthen itsrelationship with Asia, Australia must change its cultural identity evenfurther than what is currently taking place in the nation. Continuous andpermanent change to Australia’s cultural identity can occur through variousaspects of society.

One aspect in particular, and as I believe the mostimportant is through education. One of the most important and even a keyrequirement to further this relationship would be Asian literacy being taughtto the youth (Australian curriculum) the Asian literacy will bring forward Australiawith a strong stance to the Asian region, allowing Australians to takeadvantage of the social and economic opportunities of the region (ABC 2012) givingthe people of Australia an extensive insight into the history of the Asian regionas well as their shared history with Australia will not only expand theircultural understanding of Asian societies, cultures and beliefs but it willalso higher the chance of successful participation in the “Asian century”. (Australiancurriculum) with Australia’s changed cultural identity not only will we benefitinternally but also globally and create a larger creative capital by takingadvantage of the Asian century(Australian curriculum)   the importance of Australiamaintaining a strong relationship with Asia cannot be emphasized enough. Australia’sfuture is permanently tied to Asia, due to its geographical location (Henry 2012). Creating links with Asiaare more cultural than they are economic or political (Henry2012) creating a stronger relationship with the Asianregion is the Australian governments leading role, however, educational andcultural institutions also play and important role (Henry2012).

Australia has to go further than engage with Asiaeconomically, the way Asia is spoken about in Australia must be redefined(Leong 2017). The term Asia literacy itself should be seen more than just a wayto connect but as a branch of Australia’s economic policies (Leong 2017).These strongerrelationships with the region will create deeper knowledge for Australianswhich will then enable us to access to benefits of growth in the region (Henry 2012). Being part of the Asiancentury is surely a path to future prosperity for the nation and it very importantnot to be left behind in the Asian century (Johnson 2010)  Therefore, we can cometo a conclusion that Australia should continue to change its cultural identityto better take advantage of the Asian century. Taking advantage of the Asian centurywill no doubt have great benefits for Australia economically as Australia’s successand even safety is linked to what happens in the Asia region (Australiangovernment 2012). Due to the economic growth in Asia, everything is shfting tothe region, and Australia must do its best to take advantage of this growth. Asa nation we must broaden what we know of the Asia region and its languages toin turn become more Asian literate, these skills are key to building strongerrelationships across the Asian region (Henry 2012).

Educating the youth meansthat they will have an understanding of the Asian region and language andtherefore have the skills and knowledge to be able to communicate andunderstand the Asian people (Australian curriculum). we must do all this andtake advantage of the Asian century due to our global location, Australia isgreatly involved in the Asian market. As Australia’s future is permanentlytied to the stability of its region it is vital and essential for us to graspand take advantage of what is around us, Australia must continue to support agreater role for Asian countries (Henry 2012). althoughthis success in taking advantage of the Asian century means that the wholenation my play its part it must be done so that we can contribute, learn fromand take full advantage of the Asian century (Henry 2012). Australiais a perfect example of how geographic locations do not mean that those closeto each other will be similar and have strong relationships, this is why it isimportant for Australia, to change the idea that we are different from “them”in order to be able to engage with Asia(ABC 2012). as the world, we are living in now is nodoubt the Asian century and Asia is bringing change to the world, we must takethis opportunity to grow and rise with Asia, if not done now Australia will mostcertainly fall behind economically.