2016 Women of the Future competition launch
The Weekly has found an inspiring group of 20-somethings making real change and, for once, they are being rewarded.
KIRRIBILLI HOUSE, on the shores of Sydney Harbour, is of cially the secondary home of the Prime Minister. With its Gothic architecture and elegant interiors, the home is most commonly used to entertain visiting world leaders and host sick children on an annual Easter egg hunt.
So The Weekly was honoured when the Prime Minister’s wife, Lucy Turnbull, invited us to an intimate morning tea at this historic location to launch The Australian Women’s Weekly Qantas Women of the Future Awards for 2016.
Previous winners were given the unique opportunity to share details of their ideas and projects with some of the most powerful women in the country, including Mrs Turnbull, awards’ Patron Dame Quentin Bryce and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
To launch the awards, The Weekly’s acting Editor-In-Chief, Juliet Rieden, said, “This generation is sometimes maligned in the media, but we have found an amazing group of young women who are really making a difference.” Mrs Turnbull told The Weekly, “It’s such a pleasure to meet these young women – and I know there are lots of others just like them.”
Laura O’Reilly, the 2014 winner, seized the opportunity to explain her initiative, Fighting Chance, to Mrs Turnbull, who was impressed with the project, which helps those with disabilities nd work.
Now in their fourth year, the awards recognise and reward women aged between 18 and 30 working on projects to transform the lives of others.