Lowy Institute: Live Events

As the post-World War II international order undergoes an uncertain transformation, how will India position itself in Asia and beyond as an emerging and aspiring power? On 11 November, former Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran delivered the 2015 Owen Harries Lecture on India's role in this new global order. The annual Owen Harries Lecture honours the enormous contribution Mr Harries, a Nonresident Fellow of the Lowy Institute, has made to the international policy debate in Australia.

Former Indian Foreign Secretary and 2015 Telstra Distinguished International Fellow Shyam Saran speaks with Sam Roggeveen about the challenges and opportunities facing India today.

On November 4 the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Glenn Stevens, officially launched 'The G20 and the Future of International Economic Governance'. Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow Mike Callaghan and G20 Research Fellow Tristram Sainsbury have brought together an impressive collection of expert contributors to assess the impact of the Australian 2014 summit in the context of the year’s broader geopolitical challenges.

On Tuesday 27 October, the Lowy Institute hosted a conversation with two of Australia’s leading Middle East experts, Dr Rodger Shanahan and Dr Sarah Phillips. Chaired by the Lowy Institute’s Research Director, Anthony Bubalo, the conversation explored the region’s ongoing instability, from Yemen and the horn or Africa to Iraq and Syria, and how regional states in particular are responding.

The Lowy Institute, together with the Asia Pacific Professionals Association Ltd, hosted a panel discussion exploring gender parity issues in Papua New Guinea, where women face many significant challenges. High-profile speakers from Papua New Guinea and Australia discussed how the private sector can increase the diversity of the work force and expand the opportunities available to women within the changing commercial and social environment of Papua New Guinea – the fastest growing economy in the world in 2015. International evidence shows that investing in women and girls produces higher economic growth and better living standards in developing countries. The panel speakers provided perspectives from their specific industry sector and identify the steps that have been taken to address gender parity issues, as well as what more could be done. The sectors represented include law, education, energy and resources, banking and commerce. The Lowy Institute’s Melanesia Program Director, Jenny Hayward-Jones, chaired the discussion. Photo: Flickr/DFAT

On 8 October the Lowy Institute hosted Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor of The Australian. Drawing on his recently published memoir, When We Were Young and Foolish, Sheridan and Lowy Institute Research Director Anthony Bubalo explored the critical and unrecognised role that foreign policy has played in forming the hearts and minds of two generations of Australian political leaders, including Tony Abbott, Bob Carr, Kevin Rudd, Malcolm Turnbull and Peter Costello. Photo: Flickr/Kyle Taylor

In a little over a year’s time, Americans will elect a new president. What are the key foreign policy challenges from Europe and the Middle East to Asia that President Obama will bequeath to his successor? On 24 September the Lowy Institute hosted a conversation with Ambassador Martin Indyk, one of America’s leading foreign policy thinkers, on the international issues that are likely to figure in the presidential election campaign and that will confront the new president in his or her first year in office. Ambassador Martin S. Indyk is executive vice president of the Brookings Institution. From 2013 to 2014 he served as the U.S. special envoy for the Israeli Palestinian negotiations. Previously, Ambassador Indyk was vice president and director of the Foreign Policy Program and a senior fellow and the founding director of the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Israel from 1995 to 1997 and from 2000 to 2001. Ambassador Indyk is a member of the Lowy Institute Board.

Interpreter editor Sam Roggeveen talks with Lowy Institute Research Director Anthony Bubalo and senior correspondent for The Age Daniel Flitton on what the ascent of Malcolm Turnbull means for Australia's foreign and national security policies.

In this landmark year for Papua New Guinea, the Lowy Institute convened a panel of three of Papua New Guinea’s prominent emerging leaders to discuss the future of their country and the likely challenges that their generation will face. The panel included Allan Bird, agribusiness expert and host of Tanim Graun – Papua New Guinea’s answer to Q&A; Serena Sumanop, Executive Director of The Voice Inc, a non-government organisation which fosters leadership skills amongst Papua New Guinea’s university students and Jeffry Feeger, a popular Papua New Guinean artist. Their discussion was moderated by Sean Dorney, former long-serving ABC correspondent in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific and Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow. Photo: Flickr/Steve Shattuck

2015's Lowy Lecture was delivered by General (Ret.) David Petraeus AO on Tuesday 2 September. General Petraeus is one of the most outstanding US generals of recent times. He commanded coalition forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq with great success. He also served as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency until 2012. He holds a PhD in international relations from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. General Petraeus remains an influential adviser to US policymakers and, as Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, one of the leading thinkers about geopolitical developments and America’s role in the world. The annual Lowy Lecture is the Lowy Institute's signature event each year, at which a prominent individual reflects on Australia’s role in the world and the world’s influence on Australia. Past Lowy Lecturers have included H.E. Dr Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany; Rupert Murdoch AC, Executive Chairman of News Corp; Lionel Barber, Editor of the Financial Times; and Prime Minister John Howard OM AC, who delivered the inaugural Lowy Lecture in 2005.

Lowy Institute Research Associate Brendan Noone-Thomas interviews US strategist P.W Singer about a range of topics explored in his new book, 'Ghost Fleet'. More details on 'Ghost Fleet' can be found at www.ghostfleetbook.com

On August 26, Dr Michael Fulliove, the Executive Director of the Lowy Institute, conducted a conversation with leading US strategist (and now novelist) P.W. Singer on the future of war. You can find details on P.W. Singer's book 'Ghost Fleet' here: http://www.ghostfleetbook.com

On 20 August 2015, the Lowy Institute hosted an address from Peter Varghese AO, Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Mr Varghese presented his perspective on key themes in Australia’s Foreign Policy.

The keynote address at the 2015 Lowy Institute Media Award dinner was delivered by Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp. Thomson has served as editor-in-chief of Dow Jones, managing editor of the Wall Street Journal and editor of The Times. He has held several posts at the Financial Times, including Editor of the US edition, Editor of the Weekend FT and Assistant Editor. He has also been a correspondent himself in Tokyo and in Beijing. Following the address, Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove announced that Paul Maley of The Australian had won this year's award for his work on Australian foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria.

On Tuesday 4 August the Lowy Institute hosted a conversation with one of America’s most insightful foreign policy analysts. David J. Rothkopf, CEO and Editor of the FP Group, spoke with the Lowy Institute’s Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove, on the topic of US foreign policy after the Obama administration.