Drinks with Dr Julie Sunday

Her Excellency 𝗗𝗿 Julie Sunday, High Commission of Canada in Australia | Haut-commissariat du Canada en Australie and Vanuatu, led an open, engaging and insightful live Candid Conversion session on 𝘌𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 with Melbourne Forum members and guests earlier in the week.
The discussion was incredibly timely, traversing the impact of multiple international developments and about how middle powers can and are working together in an uncertain world. The engineering term ‘variable geometry’ is now being used to describe the flexible cooperation – at speed – that is often now needed amongst different countries. This draws on the 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 Mark Carney’s address to the World Economic Forum and his recent visit to hashtag#Australia.

There were great exchanges amongst the group regarding the shift from competition to cooperation in critical minerals, deeper defence ties across both militaries and defence industries and the different experiences and learnings in relation to Indigenous histories and communities.

It was a great privilege for our members and guests to have real access to such an informed and articulate global senior diplomat. Prior to her Pacific appointment, Dr Julie Sunday led Consular, Security and Emergency Management for Canada, including hostage negotiations in the Middle East, and Canada’s COVID19 response.