Honouring 2025 Sydney Peace Prize Laureate Judge Navi Pilla
Honouring 2025 Sydney Peace Prize Laureate Judge Navi Pillay
Rotarians joined a sold-out Gala Award Week to celebrate Judge Navi Pillay, recipient of the 2025 Sydney Peace Prize for “a lifetime of advocating for fundamental human rights, peace with justice and the rights of women” and for challenging the global culture of impunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Gala Dinner
Wednesday 5 November, 6.30 pm
Hosted by writer and journalist Benjamin Law, the Gala Dinner brought together Judge Pillay with Professor Ben Saul, Professor Catherine Renshaw, and international peace-building lawyer Ben Lee for a compelling discussion on human rights, accountability and the global struggle against impunity.
Judge Pillay shared reflections from her journey across decades of international justice—from apartheid South Africa to the Rwanda Tribunal, the International Criminal Court, and her tenure as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She spoke about the responsibility of nations to uphold international law and called for renewed courage in protecting human dignity.
Award Ceremony & Lecture
Thursday 6 November, 6.30 pm
At Sydney Town Hall, Judge Pillay received the Sydney Peace Prize from Lord Mayor Clover Moore before delivering a powerful address on strengthening institutions, countering impunity, and the critical importance of collective action in preventing atrocities.
Human rights experts Chris Sidoti and Rawan Arraf, alongside moderator Nour Haydar, expanded on the themes of justice, accountability and global solidarity. The evening opened with a vibrant Acknowledgement of Country by the NSW Public Schools Aboriginal Dance Company, grounding the ceremony in culture, Country and community.
Rotary Participation
The Rotary Club of Sydney was proudly represented throughout the Sydney Peace Prize Gala Award Week.
Rotarian Christine Yen volunteered across both the Gala Dinner and the Award Ceremony, supporting guest operations, photography, and post-event coordination—demonstrating Rotary’s commitment to service and peace-building in action.
Rotary also hosted a full table at the Gala Dinner, strengthening our longstanding relationship with the Sydney Peace Foundation. Our table included:
Their presence highlighted Rotary’s ongoing dedication to global peace, justice and community leadership.
Rotary Peace Fellows 2026
Outstanding Results for Rotary Club of Sydney
Tamkin Hakim
Bahcesehir University, Istanbul – September intake
Originally from Afghanistan, Tamkin supports women targeted by the Taliban for pursuing education or advocating for women’s rights. She also works with DFAT to assist young Afghan women seeking asylum and educational opportunities in Australia.
Constantin Gouvy
Bahcesehir University, Istanbul – January intake
A researcher with the Clingendael Conflict Research Unit, Constantin studies the political economy of modern conflict, local governance, justice systems, extremism spill-over and migration across the Sahel region.
Grace Stanhope
Uppsala University, Sweden – August 2026 intake
Grace is a Research Associate at the Lowy Institute, contributing to the Southeast Asia Aid Map and broader Indo Pacific development analysis. She previously worked with ASPI and holds dual degrees in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and Development Studies from ANU.
Next Steps
All three Peace Fellows have expressed interest in visiting the Rotary Club of Sydney to introduce themselves to members.
This is a proud moment for our club and a significant contribution to Rotary’s global mission of promoting peace, conflict prevention and community resilience.
Trident Satellite Club: Fundraiser Supports St Andrew’s Ukrainian School
The Rotary Club of Sydney’s Satellite Club, Sydney Trident, is proud to support St Andrew’s Ukrainian School in Lidcombe, a long-standing community school preserving Ukrainian language, culture and tradition for more than 55 years.
Trident members are fundraising to help the school purchase a Smart Board to bring interactive digital learning into the classroom for over 130 children, many of whom have recently arrived from Ukraine and rely on the school as a safe place to learn, belong and thrive.
This project reflects Sydney Trident’s commitment to education, community resilience and creating a sense of home for children who have fled conflict.
“Sydney-Trident satellite has had a busy day: we were raising money for the Smart Board project at the Ukrainian fair 🌻 Success! 💥💥💥”
wrote Liudmyla Olkhovska, Club Director and Chair of Trident Companion Club.
Vision Beyond AUS Charity Dinner 2025
The recent Vision Beyond AUS (VBA) Charity Dinner was a great success, bringing Rotarians and supporters together for an exceptional evening hosted at Dhakshin South Indian Restaurant, with a menu curated by Head Chef Vijayan Ramasamy.
Thanks to the generosity of attendees and supporters, the event raised $6,706 for VBA. Every dollar will go directly toward delivering sight-restoring eye surgeries, as VBA operates entirely through volunteers with no administrative deductions.
This contribution will help provide vision-saving surgery for approximately 191 people living in severe poverty across India, Myanmar, Cambodia and Nepal.
To date, Vision Beyond AUS has funded over 60,905 eye surgeries, with the long-term goal of restoring sight to 100,000 people. The continued support of our Rotary community is vital in helping VBA reach this milestone and transform lives.
