The Lowy Institute hosted a major address by the President of the Republic of the Philippines, Ferdinand R Marcos Jr on the sidelines of the ASEAN–Australia Special Summit. The President addressed a Lowy Institute audience on the strategic challenges and direction of the Philippines in an era of great power rivalry. Following his address, the President spoke in conversation with Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove AM.

The Hon Ferdinand R Marcos Jr is the Philippines’ 17th president, having been elected to office in May 2022. President Marcos has had a public service career spanning more than three decades in which he has served in the Philippines Senate, House of Representatives and as Governor of Ilocos Norte province.

A conversation between chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times Gideon Rachman and the Lowy Institute’s Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove AM. They discussed the wars, summits and elections that will shape the international agenda in 2024, as well as the decision-makers and presidential aspirants who are influencing world affairs. 

Gideon Rachman is chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times and a Nonresident Fellow at the Lowy Institute. Known for his witty and authoritative analysis of global affairs, he is the author of multiple books including most recently The Age of the Strongman: How the Cult of the Leader Threatens Democracy Around the World. Gideon joined the FT after a 15-year career at The Economist, which included assignments as a foreign correspondent in Brussels, Washington, DC, and Bangkok. He is a former Lowy Institute Rothschild & Co Distinguished International Fellow and delivered the 2022 Lowy Institute Media Lecture.

The Hon Anthony Albanese MP is the 31st Prime Minister of Australia. Since the election of his government in May 2022, Prime Minister Albanese has focused closely on issues of foreign policy, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Australia’s relations with allies and key regional partners.

The Lowy Lecture is the Institute’s flagship event and one of the world’s leading lecture series, at which a prominent individual reflects on Australia and the world. Past Lecturers include German Chancellor Angela Merkel; UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson; US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan; Lowy Institute Chairman Sir Frank Lowy; and several Australian prime ministers including Prime Minister John Howard, who delivered the inaugural Lowy Lecture in 2005.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Lowy Institute.

James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, spoke about strengthening Papua New Guinea's economy, climate change, and PNG’s place in the world.

After his remarks, the Prime Minister spoke in conversation with the Lowy Institute's Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove AM.

James Marape has served as Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea since May 2019 and as a Member of Parliament representing the electorate of Tari-Pori Open in Hela Province since 2007.

To mark the launch of the latest Lowy Institute Paper, Modern Warfare: Lessons from Ukraine, we talk with the author, Sir Lawrence Freedman, about the Ukraine War. Join Lowy Institute analyst Sam Roggeveen for an in-depth discussion in which Sir Lawrence examines questions such as ‘Who is winning?’, ‘Will the West remain unified behind Ukraine?’, and ‘How does this war end?’. To buy Modern Warfare, visit the Penguin Books Australia website.

A policy address given by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Hon Chris Bowen.

Chris Bowen entered Parliament in 2004 and has held a wide range of portfolios including serving as Treasurer, Minister for Human Services, Minister for Immigration and Minister for Financial Services.  He served as Interim Leader of the Labor Party and Acting Leader of the Opposition following the 2013 Federal election and served as Shadow Treasurer.

This November, the world's attention will be on the 28th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP28) on climate change held in Dubai. As countries convene to agree on efforts to mitigate the consequences of climate change, questions arise: what are the implications for Australia and what role does Australia play?

Minister Bowen will speak on the international dynamics affecting global climate action and how Australia’s ambition to become a Renewable Energy Superpower can help the world in the rapid transformation to reach net zero emissions. After his remarks, the Minister spoke in conversation with the Lowy Institute's Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove AM.

For 650 days, Sean Turnell was a prisoner of the military junta that has ruled Myanmar since 2021. Incarcerated in some of Myanmar’s most notorious prisons, isolated, ill-treated, and ultimately convicted in a sham trial of effectively being a spy, the descent from his role as chief economic adviser to Myanmar’s civilian government was a steep one. From helping to design policies to entrench democracy and help make Myanmar the last and best of the Asian ‘tigers’, his task became one of simple and desperate survival. In An Unlikely Prisoner, Sean recounts how he not only survived his lengthy incarceration but left with his sense of humour intact and his spirit unbroken.

We were joined in conversation with the author, Dr Sean Turnell, moderated by Lowy Institute Research Director Hervé Lemahieu, with questions from the audience. 
 
Dr Sean Turnell is a Senior Fellow in the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute, covering developments in Myanmar, the wider region, and international economic issues. Prior to his appointment as chief economic adviser to Myanmar’s civilian government, he was a Professor of Economics at Macquarie University, and a senior analyst at the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The sixth annual Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map reveals a new era of development financing that is characterised by new priorities and new financial instruments to support a Pacific region facing myriad challenges, including climate change. 

Join us on Tuesday 31 October for a special video event to launch the 2023 update of the Pacific Aid Map. Lead researcher Alexandre Dayant will be joined by Research Fellow Dr Jessica Collins and FDC Pacific Fellow Maholopa Laveil for a discussion facilitated by the Institute's Lead Economist and Director of the Indo-Pacific Development Centre Roland Rajah.

2023 Pacific Aid Map

Covering 82 donors, tens of thousands of projects and activities, 70 million datapoints and more than US$44 billion in spending, the Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map is the largest and most comprehensive database of Official Development Finance — grants, loans, and other forms of assistance — ever assembled for the Pacific. The 2023 update now includes data on every aid project in the Pacific Islands region from 2008 to 2021.

Participants

Alexandre Dayant is the Deputy Director of the Indo-Pacific Development Centre and Project Lead for the Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map and Southeast Asia Aid Map. His work focuses on development economics and geoeconomics in both regions. 

Dr Jessica Collins is a Research Fellow in the Pacific Islands Program at the Lowy Institute. She has undertaken research projects on the development benefits of Pacific remittances, and trends in financing to advance women’s development. She comments widely on Australia’s policy in the Pacific and publishes on Pacific women’s political representation. 

Maholopa (Maho) Laveil is the inaugural FDC Pacific Fellow at the Lowy Institute. He works in the Institute’s Pacific Islands Program as part of a one-year secondment from the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG).

Roland Rajah is Director of the Indo-Pacific Development Centre, a dedicated policy research centre within the Lowy Institute. A development economist by background, Roland has extensive experience working across both emerging Asia and the small island developing states of the Pacific, notably with the Asian Development Bank, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and the Reserve Bank of Australia.

An address by Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, on business and human rights. The event was presided over by Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium, who led the Belgian Economic Mission to Australia.

Following her address, the Minister joined the Lowy Institute’s Research Director Hervé Lemahieu for a panel conversation alongside Dr James Cockayne, Anti-Slavery Commissioner for New South Wales, and Professor Justine Nolan, Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute at the University of New South Wales. The discussion was centred on Europe’s expansion of corporate due diligence efforts and the implications for Australian businesses.

Tuesday 24 October 2023