Congratulations to Award Winner: Andrew Forrest AO and Nicola Forrest of Minderoo Foundation
Andrew and Nicola Forrest are leading Australian philanthropists who have committed to giving away the majority of their wealth. Together they established the Minderoo Foundation in 2001 as a vehicle for their giving to create positive, lasting impact.
The Minderoo Foundation has global reach, and strives for sustainable improvement through six core areas:
I. Eliminate Cancer Initiative, making cancer non-lethal for the next generation;
II. GenerationOne, ending Indigenous disparity through education, training and employment;
III. the Walk Free Foundation, working with governments, business and faiths to end slavery;
IV. the Forrest Research Foundation, supporting world-class higher education and innovation;
V. Thrive by Five, addressing early childhood development; and
VI. Philanthropic partnerships, in particular focused on supporting the arts and enriching communities.
Nicola Forrest is the CEO of the Minderoo Foundation and has led the diversification of the Foundation to provide a holistic approach to community development, particularly through education and the arts. Nicola is a member of the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership, Telethon Kids Institute CoLab Advisory Council and Governor of the Forrest Research Foundation. During 2014 Nicola was awarded the Celebrate WA Western Australian of the year (community category) and in 2016 was awarded the University of Canberra’s Chancellor’s Award for Services to Philanthropy.
In 2013 the Prime Minister of Australia appointed Andrew Forrest AO to Chair a review into
Indigenous Training and Employment. One of his proudest achievements was the bringing together of the world’s major faith and spiritual leaders to produce a global religious proclamation against modern slavery. Andrew was named the 2017 Australian of the Year for Western Australia, and 2017 Western Australian of the year. He is an
Officer of the Order of Australia.
The Eliminate Cancer Initiative (ECI) is a new ground-breaking global initiative that aims to bring an end to the lethality of cancer. The key to the ECI is collaboration. ECI will serve a global convening role across the cancer industry, from academia to private industry and government, by bringing resources, influence and leadership to remove barriers and enable collaboration across the cancer care continuum. ECI is unique: it will fund projects that cross traditional institutional, sectoral and geographic boundaries, breaking down silos and ending fragmentation in the cancer field – from prevention, diagnosis and treatment, to research, drug development and clinical trials. ECI programs will empower patients by giving them access to the knowledge and tools they require to better understand their own health. ECI aims to leverage philanthropic seed capital to inspire tens of billions of dollars from the public and private sectors.
Image Caption: Prof Peter Leedman (Harry Perkins Institute], Bruce Mansfield [Minderoo Foundation] and Hon Greg Hunt MP
