We sat down with journalist and author David Leser. A former Middle East and North American correspondent, David has been a journalist for 40 years and become widely known in Australia for his in-depth profiles and stories on social and
“The truth telling is to liberate everyone. It’s to liberate us from our own sense of superiority or to liberate us from our sense of oppression… and we’ve got to deal honestly with this if we want to create a
In 2017, the Black Lives Matter Global Network received the Sydney Peace Prize for building a powerful movement for racial equality and courageously reigniting a global conversation. We recently caught up with Rodney Diverlus who accepted the Prize in 2017
Covid-19 is re-setting our global understanding of how we need to behave and respond to a global crisis, giving a new sense of humanity and what is important for our lives – physically, emotionally, spiritually and economically. It is demonstrating in
We were so honoured to award the Gold Medal for Human Rights to Christiana Figueres on 12 March in the Lord Mayor's Reception Room at the Sydney Town Hall. Christiana gave an impassioned speech about the need for urgent action
What a difference four years make. December 12, 2019: Scott Morrison was having a so-so day. He had faced international criticism of the Government’s response to climate change. Bushfires were raging up and down the coast of NSW, and Sydney had
During her time in Australia to accept the 2019 Sydney Peace Prize on behalf of the Me Too movement, Tarana Burke spoke with Vogue Australia's Clare Press about the origins of Me Too, the viral hashtag, and how work to
The leader of the Paris Climate Agreement talks says she is "deeply pained" by the attitude of the Australian Government to climate change in the wake of this summer's unprecedented bushfires. Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueres became the United Nations' top
Advocates of the Green New Deal say there is great urgency in dealing with the climate crisis and highlight the scale and scope of what is required to combat it. They are right. They use the term “New Deal” to
Christiana Figueres once credited the Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh with helping her shepherd 192 countries from blaming to collaborating, from paralysis to empowerment in the Paris Agreement. Now Figueres and her strategic advisor, former Buddhist monk Tom Rivett-Carnac, have penned a book
The effects of climate change represent the single biggest threat to peace with justice. The Sydney Peace Foundation has chosen to honor the leadership of Christiana Figueres with the presentation of the 2020 Gold Medal for Human Rights because of her
Peace is much more than the absence of violence. Peace requires the presence of justice, institutions and structures preventing violence. ‘The risks associated with climate-related disasters do not represent a scenario of some distant future. They are already a reality for
If it’s possible to galvanise people starting with a hashtag, then so much more is possible, the Sydney Peace prize winner says After being named among a group of prominent activists against sexual violence known as “the silence breakers” in Time
The founder of the #MeToo movement says Australia’s defamation laws work to silence victims of sexual violence and misconduct, and she “absolutely” believes allegations of sexual assault made against President Donald Trump and US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanagh. Tarana Burke
It’s been two years since #MeToo became part of the zeitgeist. There have been many stories, personal and in the media, that have motivated the public to confront workplace dynamics between men and women, consent, and the nature of sex itself. While these often-devastating narratives
Greta Thunberg has excoriated world leaders for their “betrayal” of young people through their inertia over the climate crisis at a United Nations summit that failed to deliver ambitious new commitments to address dangerous global heating. In a stinging speech on
Women's bodies are being politicised again in countries where the debate over women's bodily autonomy should have been concluded decades ago, says Katrin Jakobsdottir Women are losing control of their own bodies as "aggressive nationalism" sweeps the world, Iceland's prime minister
A 12-year-old Indigenous boy from Australia's Northern Territory is believed to be the youngest to address the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Twelve-year-old Indigenous boy Dujuan Hoosan has appealed to members of the United Nations Human Rights Council to
Starting with two words, ‘me too’, women around the world have united in solidarity to share personal experiences about sexual harassment. This global call for change - the Me Too movement - has played a game-changing role in destigmatising the
Are you passionate about peace and justice? Great news! We are looking for two interns to join our small team to assist with the 2019 Sydney Peace Prize events honouring the Me Too movement. You will be an important member of a
The young activists’ aspirations – to assemble peacefully, to speak freely, to not be persecuted – are a universal cause. Why do the Hong Kong activists matter to us? Because their cause is universal. Aerial images of vast crowds flooding the streets of the skyscraper-studded island are
#MeToo movement founder Tarana Burke and advocate of the Australian anti-harassment drive Tracey Spicer have been awarded the Sydney Peace Prize. Founder of the global #MeToo movement Tarana Burke and one of the leading faces of the Australian movement, Tracey Spicer,
We were so pleased to offer a sneak peak unveiling of the Me Too movement as the 2019 Sydney Peace Prize recipient on 30 April before the news broke publicly. Thank you to everyone who woke up so early to
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins has announced the MeToo Movement as the winner of the 2019 Sydney Peace Prize. Ms Jenkins said the global movement, which has had local and international impact in its call to action on sexual assault and
Tarana Burke, the US-based founder of the #MeToo movement, has been awarded the annual prize alongside Spicer, who helped spearhead award-winning investigations into sexual harassment in media workplaces in Australia. The author and broadcaster was part of a Walkley award-winning team behind