Welcome to the 9th Advance International Australian Awards
As a nation that boasts a diverse population of over 25 million people, Australia’s greatest riches lie in its unique people power and talent. Australians are consistently inventing and producing world-leading innovations. Every day our incredible diaspora is making a real difference around the globe.
This year’s Advance nominees and winners explore issues, ask the hard questions, test their theories, challenge themselves and challenge the status quo. In doing so, they are making real, important and valuable discoveries that have a positive impact on our global society.
Advance connects, supports and celebrates our unique diaspora and their extraordinary achievements. We stimulate the collaboration between Australian organisations and our expatriates around the world. In doing so, we connect people, ideas and opportunities and ensure that the insights, innovation and talents of our Global Australians are channelled for the benefit of all Australians and Australia.
Once a year, over the past eight years, Advance has invited members of our Australian diaspora to return home to be recognised and celebrated for their outstanding contributions.
This year, the ninth year of the Advance Awards, life is a bit different. Many of our Global Australians have already returned home due to Covid, where others are far from our shores and not able to return home.
The 2020 Advance Awards will connect us in a way we’ve never before been connected. Tonight’s event will bring us all together, from wherever we are in the world, to unite in celebrating our amazing talent; to recognise the ingenuity and impact that our nation’s people have on the world – and to be thankful to be Australian.
On behalf of Advance, I extend enormous thanks to our partners, the Australian Government, to our corporate sponsors, silver sponsors, bronze sponsors and supporters and our Advance Ambassadors. Your support of the Advance Awards has made tonight possible. Thank you also to our incredible panel of Advance Awards judges and our Board for your vision and dedication.
I applaud the 37 finalists who have been recognised this year for their outstanding work and wish them all well with their future endeavours. I encourage you to take the time to find out more about each of them and I promise that you will be truly inspired by their achievements.
Tonight we are incredibly excited to introduce you to the 2020 Advance Award winners. Each of them is deserving of the title of Advance Award winner and we look forward to sharing their stories with you in more detail over the coming months.
Thank you for joining us tonight and I warmly welcome you all to the Advance global community.
Yasmin Allen
Chairman, Advance