On an unseasonally warm Friday evening in Melbourne, 60 THPA investors, advocates and changemakers gathered for an intimate cocktail event as part of Women Deliver 2026.
Hosted by Irene Naikaali, The Hunger Project’s Country Director in Uganda, who grew up in one of Kampala’s slums and has spent her life working to put women at the centre of change, the panel conversation drew together five extraordinary women whose lives and work span three continents.
Khushi, 20, from Bihar, India – the first person from her village to ever travel abroad – spoke about growing into her sense of leadership.
“At the beginning, I wondered why they had chosen me. But now, after this past week, I am starting to feel more and more like a leader. Things are not so great in Bihar where I live right now, but one day, I hope to see you in my village.”
Luisa, an Indigenous women from Chiapas, Mexico, spoke about how climate change is affecting the food her community can grow and the challenges and pain that brings.
Abby, also an Indigenous woman but from Oaxaca, also in Mexico, was moved to tears when she thought of all the women back home, whose voices and experiences she carried with her.
“I am here knowing that many women from my community will never get the chance to speak in a space like this. They are going through domestic violence and do not have a voice. I carry their voices and their spirit with me.”
Tania Austin, founder of DECJUBA and long-time THPA investor with the DECJUBA Foundation, and her daughter Sky, founder of Luv Sky and member of THPA’s Youth Board, spoke to what it means to put values into action — across generations, and across borders.
“I feel incredibly blessed that I have built a business based on values. Out of our 1,600 employees, 1,590 are women, and we have a woman CEO, Audrey Nania, who is in this audience tonight and we have both seen the work firsthand. When I started, my idea of philanthropy is that you should always give more than you get.
The thing is, the more I give, the more I get back.”
Meanwhile, Sky spoke passionately about how young people can get involved.
“I’m so excited to see so many youth in the room tonight. We’re really driven by creating community at THPA’s Youth Board. It’s so easy to say “it’s not my problem” but that’s an excuse I don’t want to hear anymore! Get yourself in front of knowledge, be curious and ask all the questions and immerse yourself in events like tonight’s incredible panel.”
The conversations were honest, hopeful, and at times, moving and devastating, but the overarching theme was one of solidarity, and the power of a collective movement. On a warm Friday night in Melbourne, that power radiated from the room, and will likely live on in the hearts of everyone who was there to witness it.
