AEGN Environmental Philanthropy Conference 2026
Full program
SPEAKERS
Speaker to be announced
Speaker to be announced
Tuesday 11 August
Welcome Drinks
at Taxi Kitchen, Level 1 Federation Square, Melbourne VIC
Time: 6.00pm - 8.00pm
Wednesday 12 August
Conference Day 1
at The Glasshouse, Olympic Park Oval, 1 Olympic Blvd Melbourne VIC
Time: 8.00am - 5.30pm
Time
Session
8.00 - 9.00am
Registration & Tea/Coffee
9.00 - 9.30am
Welcome to Country and Conference Opening
Speakers
To be announced
Please note: Sessions, speakers and timings are subject to change. More details to come.
9.30 - 10.30am
Bold, Brave & Looking Beyond: The Opening of the AEGN Environmental Philanthropy Conference
The morning will set the tone for the conference and connect to our theme — Bold, Brave and Looking Beyond — inviting delegates to reflect on a defining year for Australia’s environment sector and the geopolitical, climate and nature context shaping everything to come.
Set amongst the scale of what’s required, this opening session will then focus on the opportunity and impact from collective action, the AEGN’s strategic focus areas and practical ways for members to deepen their involvement — exploring the highest-leverage moments in the year ahead for Australian philanthropy to genuinely shift the dial on climate and nature.
Speakers: Amy Remeikis - Australia Institute, Zoe Daniels - Former Independent Federal MP
To be announced
Morning Tea & Connecting
10.30 - 11.15am
4.05 - 5.20pm
Break out 1: Funding Nature Better - A Case Study in Collective Action
The scale of Australia’s biodiversity crisis requires a concerted giving approach. Nature needs more funding, delivered at speed, to organisations capable of achieving results. Hear how five AEGN members are collaborating for impact, and how the Nature Funding Framework influences their collective and individual giving.
Speakers: Kate Green - Rendere Environmental Trust, Esther Abram - Nature Impact Collective, Margie Jenkin - Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network, moderated by Ella Colley - Gum Tree Foundation.
11.15 - 11.55am
The Mechanics of Systems Change and How Philanthropy Can Accelerate it
Significant change rarely looks inevitable until after it's happened. So how does it actually occur — and how do you position yourself to help make it so?
Joojin Kim knows firsthand. As CEO and Founder of Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC), Joojin has been at the forefront of accelerating the energy transition in South Korea; combining legal strategy, policy influence and civil society mobilisation to shift entrenched systems. In this session, he will share insights on how change happens in practice, and the role strategic philanthropy can play in navigating complexity, identifying leverage points that matter and enabling lasting impact. Includes Q&A.
Speakers: International keynote speaker Joojin Kim, CEO and Founder of Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC), introduced by speaker to be announced.
Conference MC
End of Day 1 Wrap-up & Reflection
5.20 - 5.30pm
To be announced
12.45 - 1.50pm
Lunch, Connecting & Entertainment
Break out 2: Misinformation and the Role of the Media
The climate wars are increasingly fuelled by sophisticated, ideologically driven disinformation "playbooks.” with the media and social media playing crucial roles in amplifying a misleading narrative. Our speakers will share how explanatory journalism and new media communicators are working to strengthen the information ecosystem by amplifying evidence-based information and promoting solution-based action.
Speakers to be announced
Break out 3: Why the Intersection of Gender and Climate Matters Now
Session information TBC
Speakers: Clare Gibellini - National Disability Research Partnerships, Victoria McKenzie-McHarg - Women's Environmental Leadership Australia, Julie Reilly OAM - Australians Investing In Women.
Member-led Breakout Sessions
3.20 - 4.05pm
Afternoon Tea & Connecting
1.50 - 3.20pm
The Funding Ecosystem: Growing Capital for Nature
The capital required to heal our planet dwarfs what philanthropy can deploy through grants alone. So what else can philanthropists do — with their corpus, their networks and their influence — to amplify their grantmaking and mobilise more money, faster, towards the outcomes that matter?
This session opens up the toolkit. Through the experiences of three AEGN members, we explore the practical reality of blended finance, mission-aligned investing and catalytic capital — what they look like in practice, what they've unlocked, and what other philanthropists can take from their approach. Includes Q&A.
Speakers: Lisa Miller - Wedgetail, Izzy Jesen - Transition Accelerator, Rachel Ball - Reichstein Foundation, moderated by Alan Schwartz AO - Trawalla Foundation and Transition Accelerator.
To be announced
Wednesday 12 August
Networking Drinks
at The Glasshouse, Olympic Park Oval, 1 Olympic Blvd Melbourne VIC
Time: 5.30pm - 7.00pm
Thursday 13 August
Conference Day 2
at The Glasshouse, Olympic Park Oval, 1 Olympic Blvd Melbourne VIC
Time: 8.00am - 5.30pm
Time
8.15 - 9.00am
Session
Speakers
Registration & Tea/Coffee
N/A
9.00 - 9.10am
Conference Welcome & Reflection
Conference MC
9.10 - 10.40am
Fed up: How Australia’s Food Systems are Harming People and Planet
+ AEGN Food Systems Strategy Launch
The global food system feeds billions. It also drives deforestation, depletes soils, drains freshwater and accounts for a third of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. One of the most powerful — and most overlooked — drivers of environmental harm, Australia’s food systems are controlled by a shrinking number of corporations, who now exert unprecedented influence over what is grown, how it’s produced, what reaches our shelves, and ultimately how land, water, soil and biodiversity are exploited.
This session offers a clear, accessible introduction to how corporate concentration across the food system — from seeds and fertilisers through to processing, logistics and retail — shapes climate and nature outcomes. It unpacks the links between corporate incentives, public health, environmental degradation and community wellbeing, while exploring why today’s profit‑led system pushes planetary boundaries, undermines farmer livelihoods and hinders consumer choice.
Designed to be highly engaging and non‑technical, the session will help understand how power dynamics in the food system influence environmental outcomes, and why building fairer, more resilient systems are essential for a healthy planet. Includes interactive table discussions.
Speakers to be announced
To be announced
10.40 - 11.20am
Morning Tea & Connecting
11.20 am - 12.40pm
What does it look like when the funding is strategic, the collaboration is deep and the change that follows is real, large-scale and lasting?
This session brings together five campaigns that made bold change happen, in a fast-paced series of five-minute TED-style talks. Each story illuminates a different dimension of what it takes: the role of capacity building and place-based funding, the intersection of people power and policy, the long-term vision that sustained the work, and the critical moments where philanthropic backing made the difference between a campaign that fizzled and one that shifted an entrenched system. Includes interactive table discussions.
Speakers to be announced
The Secret Source: Stories of Bold Philanthropy
To be announced
12.40 - 1.30pm
Lunch & Connecting
1.55 - 3.00pm
3.35 - 4.35pm
Bold, Brave & Looking Beyond: A Conversation with Craig Winkler and Karrina Nolan
Bold doesn't always look bold in the moment. Sometimes it means stepping in early to back an idea with potential and then walking alongside a strong leader. This closing session brings our conference themes to life through a real story of what becomes possible when philanthropists bring resources to leadership at the right moment.
MYOB founder and philanthropist Craig Winkler will be in conversation with Karrina Nolan of Original Power and the First Nations Clean Energy Network, exploring what it takes to hold a bold vision and how backing First Nations leadership is delivering impact.
Speakers: Craig Winkler - MYOB Founder and Philanthropist, Karrina Nolan - Original Power and the First Nations Clean Energy Network
To be announced
Conference Wrap-Up & Reflection
Conference MC
4.35 - 4.45pm
Friday 14 August
Post-Conference Field Trip (TBC)
in Berth 2, Federation Wharf, Princes Walk, Naarm/Melbourne
Time: 9.45am - 12.00pm AEST
Please keep an eye out for speakers as they are announced - watch this space!
Speaker to be announced
Speaker to be announced
Speaker to be announced
Speaker to be announced
Speaker to be announced
Speaker to be announced
Tickets
Early bird tickets are on sale now:
Not yet a member of the AEGN?
The AEGN conference is open to AEGN members, partners and grantmakers with an interest in the environment who have capacity to give $25,000 or more annually to any issue (not just environment).
You can apply for membership, or express your interest in attending the conference by providing us with your details, so we can confirm your eligibility.
© AEGN 2025
The offices of the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network are on the lands of the Kulin nation and Eora nation.
Acknowledging the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia, we recognise their continuing connection to the land, waters and community.
And we pay our respects to the Traditional Owners, Custodians and Elders both past and present.
Winning Hearts and Minds: Navigating Technology, Tyrants and Talking Points
In a fragmented and increasingly hostile media landscape, the rules of campaign communication have changed — and the sector must keep up. This session takes a look at what it now takes to cut through: from the way content is created and distributed, to the role of AI and technology in reaching audiences at scale, to the challenge of countering well-resourced opposition and a more polarised public conversation.
With a philanthropy lens, we will explore whether NGOs are set up to win in this context, the gaps that need to be filled for greatest impact and what the infrastructure for effective communications campaigning looks like. Includes Q&A.
Speakers: Anna Saulwick - The Gazette, Jonathan Schleifer - Breakthrough Strategies Co, Moderated by Larissa Brown - CEO of Boundless.
11.55 am - 12.45pm
Afternoon Tea & Connecting
3.00 - 3.35pm
Tuesday 11 August
Pre-Conference Workshop - Feeling the Future: Emotional Resilience for Environmental Changemakers
at the Community of Giving, Level 6, 126 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne
Time: 10.00am - 12.00noon
Entertainment to be announced
1.30 - 1.50pm
Break out 1: AEGN Goes to Parliament
Curious about what it’s like to head to Canberra (or state government) to lobby on issues you care about? Been to Canberra and want to share your learnings? Join our “AEGN Goes to Parliament” Session to discuss why go, what it’s like, how to determine who to try to meet and learn tips about effective government outreach with AEGN members Blair Palese, Jo Norman and Stephen Pfeiffer who recently went to Canberra to lobby for strong EPBC reform.
Speakers: Blair Palese - Ethinvest, Jo Norman - Norman Family Foundation, Stephen Pfeiffer - Philanthropist and Groundswell Giving
Break out 2: Murray-Darling Basin River Fellows
Session information TBC
Speakers to be announced