On 23 January 2023, philanthopist and tech founder Bill Gates took part in a special in-person event with Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove. They spoke about global health, pandemic preparedness, food security and climate change.

Bill Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and founder of Breakthrough Energy. He co-founded Microsoft in 1975, growing the company into a global leader in business and personal software. In 2008, Gates shifted focus to the Gates Foundation’s work on increasing opportunities for the world’s most disadvantaged people. Through the Foundation, he has spent more than 20 years working on global health and development issues including pandemic prevention; disease eradication; maternal, newborn and child health; agricultural development; and water, sanitation and hygiene. In 2010, he co-founded the Giving Pledge to encourage the wealthiest families and individuals to publicly commit more than half their wealth to philanthropic causes and charitable organisations during their lifetime or in their will.

On 2 December 2022, the Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, will address the Lowy institute in a speech titled, “How a strong Europe can contribute to a more secure world”. In the address, Ms Marin will speak about Finland’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Europe’s broader security priorities. After her remarks, she will speak in conversation with Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove and take audience questions.

Sanna Marin was appointed Prime Minister of Finland on 10 December 2019. She has been actively engaged in politics since 2006. In 2015, she was elected to Parliament and has been a member of the Grand Committee, Legal Affairs Committee and Environment Committee. Ms Marin is the third female Prime Minister of Finland and the youngest prime minister in Finland’s history.

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the first woman and first African to hold the office of Director-General of the World Trade Organization. She is an economist and international development professional with more than 40 years of experience, including as a Managing Director at the World Bank. She has twice served as Nigeria's Finance Minister (2003–06 and 2011–15) and also served as the country's Foreign Minister in 2006. In 2021, Time magazine recognised her as one of the world's most influential people.

The annual Lowy Lecture is the Lowy Institute’s flagship event, 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.

The 2022 Owen Harries Lecture was delivered by the Lowy Institute's 2022 Distinguished Fellow for International Security Sir Lawrence Freedman, one of the world’s most respected military strategists. Sir Lawrence's Harries Lecture, titled ‘Inhumane War?’, discussed Moscow's assumption that Kyiv can be forced to capitulate by attacks on its citizenry and infrastructure even when Russian forces have been pushed back in the land battle. The Lecture was followed by a Q&A session moderated by Lowy Institute Director of Research Hervé Lemahieu.

Sir Lawrence Freedman is Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College London. Elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1995 and awarded the CBE in 1996, he was appointed Official Historian of the Falklands Campaign in 1997. In 2003, he was awarded the KCMG. In June 2009, he was appointed to serve as a member of the official inquiry into Britain and the 2003 Iraq War. He has written widely on international history, strategic theory and nuclear weapons issues, as well as commenting on current security issues. Among his books are Strategy: A History (2013) and Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine (2022)​​​​.

Since 2013, the annual Owen Harries Lecture has honoured the significant contribution made to the international debate in Australia and the United States by Owen Harries, who was a Nonresident Fellow at the Lowy Institute.

The Distinguished Fellowship for International Security is supported by the Australian Department of Defence’s Strategic Policy Grants Program.

The 2022 Lowy Institute Media Lecture was delivered by the Financial Times chief foreign affairs columnist Gideon Rachman, who reflected on the place of foreign news coverage in a fracturing media environment.

Gideon Rachman became chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times in July 2006. He 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 has also edited the business and Asia sections of The Economist. His interests include American foreign policy, the European Union and globalisation. His most recent book is titled The Age of the Strongman: How the cult of leader threatens democracy around the world.

Southeast Asia is one of the most economically and developmentally successful regions in the world. But the region faces numerous challenges — from fragmenting globalisation and escalating geopolitical tensions to accelerating digital disruption and the mounting costs of climate change. Internal domestic challenges also loom large. What will it take for Southeast Asia to continue to succeed? Is a new approach to development needed?

In September 2022, the Lowy Institute explored these questions in the digital debate feature Does Southeast Asia need a new development model?, featuring contributions from leading Southeast Asian experts.

Now, you are invited to join us for a special video event to discuss these questions and more. Chaired by Lowy Institute Lead Economist Roland Rajah, the panel will feature some of the region’s most interesting economic thinkers including Tricia Yeoh, CEO of leading Malaysian think tank, the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs; Vasuki Shastry, Associate Fellow at Chatham House; and Tiza Mafira, a climate policy expert and head of Climate Policy Initiative Indonesia.;

The Chinese Communist Party will shortly hold its 20th National Congress during a highly unsettled period in international affairs. In February, after President Putin and President Xi declared a "friendship without limits", Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine. In August, China responded to US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei with major military exercises. Meanwhile, President Biden has become increasingly vocal in his support for Taiwan.

Just days ahead of the CCP Congress, the Lowy Institute hosted the head of one of the most influential think tanks in Washington. Richard Fontaine addressed the Institute on the present and future of international order. After his remarks, he spoke with Executive Director Michael Fullilove about US security policy in Asia, China’s challenge to the United States and the rules-based order, as well as how the Ukraine war is being viewed in Washington.

Richard Fontaine is Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security. He served as President of CNAS from 2012–19 and before that as Senior Fellow from 2009–12. Prior to his time at CNAS, he was foreign policy adviser to Senator John McCain and worked at the US State Department, the National Security Council, and on the staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

This event was hosted as part of the project Australia's Security and the Rules-Based Order, which receives funding from the Australian Department of Defence Strategic Policy Grants Program.