Phoebe Saintilan

Something hit me over the weekend that I haven’t been able to shake. On Sunday night at Carlton Wine Room (my new favourite venue), I was lucky enough to sit in a room full of people who give me genuine hope – activists, organisers, founders, and advocates doing extraordinary work on causes that matter. We had gathered for a private dinner in Melbourne with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (as you do) and his longtime chief of staff, leading gender equality advocate Katie Telford.

Following the progress made in terms of female representation at Beijing 2022 – where women accounted for 44.7 per cent of competitors and 10 disciplines (out of 15) reached full gender parity – next year’s Olympics is set raise the bar once again with record-breaking participation and event equity. For the first time in the history of the Winter Olympics, 47 per cent of all athlete quota places have been allocated to women.

ICYMI: Australia has officially selected leading filmmaker Gabrielle Brady’s documentary The Wolves Always Come at Night as the country’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the 2026 Academy Awards. Just casually. But this isn’t just any film.