30 exceptional leaders across India and Australia have been selected as delegates for the 2025 Australia-India Youth Dialogue (AIYD), set to take place in Mumbai and Delhi from 15 – 18 September. This year, the AIYD will continue to focus on the theme of “The Future of Leadership.”
Held in Australia and India in alternating years, the dialogue not only facilitates collaboration between leaders and thinkers across the two countries, but has been central to building a stronger Australia-India business relationship.
“What makes AIYD unique is not just the calibre of the participants, but the relationships they build — collaborations in education, trade, culture and public policy that continue long after the Dialogue ends,” says Michelle Jasper, AIYD Co-Chair.
This year’s group of delegates have a diverse range of professional backgrounds. Australian members include Nhat Nguyen (mission manager of the Sydney-based Space Machines Company), Tahmara Thomas (co-founder HerVillage Foundation), Vanessa Brettell who was named the 2025 Australian of the Year Local Hero, and Senator for Western Australia Varun Ghosh.
To Senator Ghosh, the event is an opportunity to gain deep insight into the views of other young leaders.
“I’m most looking forward to meeting other delegates, hearing their perspectives on the issues facing our two nations and the region, and sharing ideas on how best to address them,” he says.
The list of Indian members includes Deepthi Bopiah, (CEO of GoSports Foundation), illustrator Alicia Souza, Sathvik Shetty, (co-founder of SmartX Technologies Australia), and Ujjvala Ballal Shetty, the CEO of Aveksha Hospitals Pvt. Ltd.
Shetty, who works to improve healthcare delivery in India, hopes that the event will allow leaders to forge partnerships which could mutually improve healthcare systems in Australia and India.
“I am particularly looking forward to exploring how both nations can collaborate to strengthen health systems, improve access to affordable care, and embrace healthcare innovation, whether through digital health, community-based care models or policy interventions,” she says.
Deepthi Bopiah, who is a leader within the sports industry, looks forward to building upon pre-existing relations between Indian and Australian leaders.
“I think it will be very interesting to speak and discuss the future of leadership considering the changing geopolitical environment. I was recently at a conference in Victoria called SportNXT and it was wonderful to see how I could further leverage the relationship between India and Australia,” she says.
Both the Indian and Australian cohorts will each gain an additional member, however the leaders have not yet been announced.
The delegates of AIYD 2025 have joined an exceptional alumni cohort of more than 350 people including Australian test cricketer Nathan Bracken, comedian and actor Urvi Majumdar, Minister of State Harsh Ramesh Sanghavi and Grammy award winner Ricky Kej.
This year’s event, hosted by Western Sydney University, the CEO Forum and the India Australia Business and Community Alliance, is a continuation of last year’s discussion on how leadership should change and evolve in response to pressing contemporary issues.
Now in its thirteenth year, AIYD 2025 seeks to inspire meaningful cross-sectoral change for future leaders across the two countries and foster enduring partnerships.
List of delegates
Australian members:
- Clare Murphy, Business Development Adviser, International, City of Melbourne
- Dickie Currer, Founder, Hype Man Media
- Georgia Lowden, President, NSW Young Liberals
- Mary Higgins, New Colombo Plan Scholar
- Medha Majumdar, Policy Officer, Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade
- Meg Washington, Singer-songwriter and Composer
- Nhat Nguyen, Mission Manager, Space Machines Company
- Shuba Krishnan, Journalist and Communication Specialist
Tahmara Thomas, Co-founder and CEO, HerVillage Foundation - Thomas Day, Global Development Manager, Acusensus
- Tim Christodoulou, Government Affairs Lead, Sydney Airport Read
Vanessa Brettell, 2025 Australian of the Year Local Hero - Varun Ghosh, Senator for Western Australia
- Bharat Sundaresan,Cricket Commentator and Writer
Indian members:
- Alicia Souza, Illustrator
- Ambi Subramaniam, Musician
- Deepthi Bopaiah, CEO, GoSports Foundation
- Kumaravel Thangavel, Entrepreneur
- Nikhil Taneja, Co-founder and Chief of Yuvaa
- Paras Parekh, Advisor, Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways
- Rohith Prakash, Maitri Scholar, Monash University
- Sarbjeet Singh, Stormwater Planning Engineer, City of Greater Geelong
- Saswati Das, Physician-Scientist and Specialist in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
- Sathvik Shetty, Co-Founder, SmartX Technologies Australia
- Shruti Chandra, Head of Government Relations & Public Policy, Prudential Plc
- Ujjvala Ballal Shetty CEO, Aveksha Hospitals Pvt. Ltd
- Vandana Kasravalli, Dancer, Choreographer, Educator
- Vignesh Seetharaman, Head of Human Resources, Mondelez India
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