As the world experiences fragmentation, in the U.S. and beyond — from geopolitics to technological disruption — we face a collision of forces challenging the assumptions we once relied on. The Olympic movement has shown me how dialogue, role modeling, and trust-based systems can guide societies through complexity.

Over decades, I’ve seen how Olympians and Paralympians elevate the human spirit. Through hard work, discipline, and teamwork – operating within systems built on mutual respect – they achieve individual and collective goals. In a fractured world, they are living examples of what collaboration and shared purpose can make possible.

A lighthouse for society

In this work – across sport, business, and public leadership – there are many layers. My role on the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee is to help align those forces toward a shared purpose. Business provides money, resources, and financial sustainability; sport provides excitement and performance. Those experiences are incredible, but on their own, they come and go. What the Olympic movement has done over the last decade is to stand for something more. In moments of great need, it can act as a lighthouse for society. It shows that countries can compete without becoming adversaries. Competition sets a higher standard; adversarial thinking creates win-lose outcomes. We need win-win.

From LA 2028 to Brisbane 2032, these events are shaping a new way of thinking about the 21st century. We are also integrating digital transformation and AI into how people experience the games, making them more inclusive and accessible.

Competition, of the Olympic kind

Human beings are not meant to be idle. Our brains are extraordinary, still largely untapped. When human intelligence and artificial intelligence come together, that can be scary, but it can also be a massive opportunity to raise our collective standard. That standard means protecting the planet, feeding and sheltering people equitably, and making systems affordable and inclusive. These are real challenges. Competition — of the Olympic kind — makes us better at meeting them.

One of the most profound experiences I had was at my first Paralympics, visiting the prosthetics repair center in the village. Athletes from developing countries arrived with outdated prosthetics and left with new ones (for free). It was their only chance to access that technology. One company didn’t just sponsor in the traditional sense, they provided a service. That’s competition combined with goodwill. That’s what the Olympic ecosystem can do.

For Brisbane 2032, our vision is simple: Believe. Belong. Become.

• Believe in systems that work.
• Belong, no matter where you come from or who you are.
• Become a better person, a better place, a better country.

Leadership isn’t measured by status; it’s measured by the lives improved through the systems we build. The Olympic movement shows that we can be competitive and caring, ambitious and inclusive, and, in a world of unrest, that is exactly the model we need.

Andrew Liveris is President of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee, former chairman and CEO, Dow Chemical and a B Team Leader. Learn more about Andrew.

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