Sydney, Australia
5–6 August 2026

2026

Two days building
a longer table.

832 people from business, philanthropy, the social sector, tech, government, community and lived experience, in one room, then on seven stages. Here’s what it looked like.

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The State Theatre marquee lit up: Live at the State! Global Impact Summit and Impact Live, Wednesday 5th August

2026 at a glance

832
In the room
178
Speakers
67
Sessions
28
Partner organisations
7
Countries
1.4M
Digital reach

The night before · Tue 4 August · Sofitel Wentworth Bar

We started with a party.

Partners, speakers and friends of the Summit came together the night before Day One to kick things off.

A speaker with a microphone addressing guests at the launch party in front of the Summit backdropA group of guests with lanyards laughing together at the launch partyThe launch party in full swing around a round, timber-ceilinged bar

Day One · Wed 5 August · State Theatre

The whole table, in one room.

Big ideas, personal stories and conversations designed to challenge the way we think about impact.

  • Daniel Flynn’s opening keynote, For the Love of Humanity
  • A World I See, the student session
  • Monika Tu, For the Love of Legacy
  • Guy Sebastian, For the Love of Healthy Minds
The State Theatre auditorium from the stalls, full for a sessionTwo speakers in armchairs sharing a laugh on stageA speaker walking into the audience with a microphone

That night · Impact Live · State Theatre

A concert with a cause.

grentperez, BENEE, Sam Weidenhofer, Guy & Jules Sebastian and the Cotton On Foundation, in front of 643 people.

  • $25,092 raised in the Kindness Moment for Krystal
  • 1,000 kids in Open Parachute for a year, thanks to $15,000 from the Sebastian Foundation
Three people on stage in an emotional moment, holding a large cardGuy Sebastian and young guests in conversation on stage in front of The Sebastian Foundation screen at Impact LiveA singer with an acoustic guitar under blue light

Day Two · Thu 6 August · Walsh Bay Arts Precinct

From inspiration to the practical.

7 stages, 56 sessions and 4 art installations: deeper discussion, practical learning and closer conversations.

  • Nedd Brockmann and Noah Yang on radical innovation
  • Maggie Beer, For the Love of Ageing Well
  • Bupa Foundation and Equitable Philanthropy’s health stream
  • AIDN’s international development stream
A panel on stage at the harbourside venue in front of a full roomDelegates listening in the timber-beamed harbourside venueAn intimate session in a warm, book-lined room

VIP Dinner · Thu 6 August · The Watersedge Restaurant

Around one long table.

An intimate dinner with the partners, speakers and supporters who made the Summit possible.

Guests seated along one long candlelit table at the VIP dinnerThree guests smiling together against a sandstone wall at the VIP dinnerA place setting with a personalised card at the VIP dinner

In their words

From the 2026 Impact Report

I go to many conferences and can say, this has been the most interesting… and the most useful one I can recall.
Tony Rinaudo AM
Lived experience sat at the centre of many of those conversations, not as a footnote, but as a form of expertise in its own right.
Hawanatu Bangura · Mahawa Creative
It felt like a new energy entering the sector. I left feeling incredibly optimistic about what might come from it.
Dan Wortley · CEO, Generous You