The winners of the fourth annual Sydney Awards have been announced at a special gala ceremony this evening at Crown Sydney, with a keynote address by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

This marks the fourth year the awards have been delivered by urban think tank Committee for Sydney, in partnership with Macquarie Business School and The Daily Telegraph.

Celebrating the people and projects that have helped shape Sydney to be one of the world’s great cities, the winners of the prestigious awards include:

Sydneysider of the Year Award

Professor Barney Glover AO transformed Sydney’s west during his time as Vice Chancellor of Western Sydney University, driving urban renewal across the region, and using campus redevelopment as a catalyst for corporate and government investment. He strategically developed high-rise campuses in key areas like Parramatta, Blacktown, and Bankstown, drawing government and corporate investment and sparking urban renewal.

Under his leadership, the university’s rankings, research, student numbers and community engagement surged. He is widely respected, particularly for his contributions to education and support for First Nations Australians.

Now, as the first Commissioner of Jobs and Skills Australia, Glover provides expert advice on Australia’s skills needs, guiding workforce studies and collaborations.

Professor Barney Glover AO said: “Having worked in Western Sydney for a decade and to have enjoyed the multicultural nature of Western Sydney and to see it now develop with what’s happening in Parramatta, with the great things happening in Liverpool, Campbelltown, Blacktown, Penrith, the cities of the west. This is not a homogeneous region, this is a wonderful cultural dynamic.

“To me, it’s Western Sydney that says so much about the future of Sydney. I’m excited by it, I’m excited by where Sydney is heading.

“It’s an enormous privilege to be Sydneysider of the Year, I’m incredibly humbled by the suggestion alongside so many Sydneysiders who do so much for this great city.”

Proudly supported by ISPT.

Young Sydneysider of the Year Award

Alexia Paglia is a fierce advocate for children’s health education. At 24, she is a Doctor of Medicine student at University of Wollongong, blending her rigorous training with a passion for community service, aiming to bridge the health literacy gap in Australia.

Her work as a clinical trials researcher in oncology at UNSW led to a significant review on survivorship care for young cancer survivors, underscoring her dedication to impactful healthcare delivery.

It’s her bestselling children’s book on heart health, ‘My Strong Heart,’ that sets her apart. Sparked by her motivation to make medical environments less intimidating for children, Alexia has used her book to facilitate free lessons at Sydney Children’s Hospital School, and host reading sessions at local libraries.

Alexia Paglia said: “The idea of creating the book came about when I was working in the hospital system during Covid-19. It taught me a lot of things, but one was the importance of advocating for health literacy.

“The response that I’ve gotten from kids and even the parents and teachers has been absolutely amazing. What I really do hope that this book will do is start to advocate for positive health behaviours like diet and exercise that we know, if they’re taught at a young age, will translate into lifelong health practies.

“Winning Young Sydneysider of the Year is such an incredible honour.”

Proudly supported by KPMG.

Unsung Hero Award

Corinne Kemp is true champion for Sydney’s grassroots communities, working tirelessly to foster philanthropy and entrepreneurship for underrepresented groups.

Volunteering as the Co-Chair of Impact100 Sydney, she organises 100 donors to contribute to a $100,000 annual collective grant, and works with them to decide which charities to support. Kemp’s commitment has led to raising over $250,000 for Impact100 last year alone.

An inclusive and collaborative leader with a knack for identifying people’s strengths and harnessing them for collective impact, Corinne is also the co-founder of Migrant Women in Business. Here, she connects migrant women entrepreneurs with a support network, resources and opportunities to help them succeed in their ventures.

Corinne Kemp said: “I love that it’s such a vibrant city, it’s a beautiful place to raise a family, it’s multicultural, it’s on the beaches. But Sydney is not that experience for everybody.”

“For a city like ours to thrive, it needs everyone to have equal acess to the opportunities. I find it very hard to be a bystander when I see social inequity or an injustice, I feel a compelling need to do something about it.

“It’s very humbling to have been nominated for the award, let alone won it, but I can’t help but feel this award belongs to the Sydney community, those people that give their time and their money to support, and the organisations that are delivering incredible services on the ground every day.”

Proudly supported by SXSW Sydney.

Project of the Year Award

The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 was more than a major sports event, it was a landmark project that demonstrated the power of sport to transform society.

Over the course of a month, two million fans attended games, with a global audience of two billion. The World Cup pumped $1.3 billion into the state’s economy and helped turn the Matildas into the nation’s leading sporting brand. The event was spearheaded by Football Australia, which envisioned the tournament as an opportunity to inspire a generation, shift expectations around women’s sport, and reinforce Australia’s standing on the global stage. It shifted the culture of sport in Australia on its axis, driving a huge upsurge in women and girls playing sport and a fanbase for the Matildas and women’s sport in general.

Since the Women’s World Cup, participation by women and girls in soccer increasing from 21% to 26% since 2021. Programs like MiniTillies have already seen a substantial increase in registrations, indicating a shift towards greater inclusivity and support for women’s football.

Sarah Walsh, Head of AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026, Women’s World Cup 2023 Legacy, Football Australia, said: “Having been a Matilda and been on the other side as a player, I hadn’t seen that type of investment or strategic thinking. I think we really needed to do things differently, and we did.”

“What we did was show women’s sport is actually commercial. It just hadn’t had the thinking and investment that it needed. Mothers of daughters and sons who were told they weren’t sporting fans actually were. It’s opened the door for football in ways we fully don’t know that potential yet.”

James Johnson, CEO of Football Australia, said: “Sydney was really core in the Women’s World Cup, we wanted to ensure that the CommBank Matildas played their first match in Sydney. That match has become the most watched TV program in Australia.

“It’s not the Women’s World Cup anymore, it’s just another World Cup, and that’s something we’re very proud of.”

Proudly supported by Aqualand.

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Finalists for all categories were put to a public vote for the People’s Choice Award, in partnership with The Daily Telegraph, attracting thousands of public votes.

People’s Choice Award, Individual

Khadijah Habbouche couldn’t wait to finish school and start studying to be a teacher, so instead of doing year 11 and 12, she worked out she could fasttrack it with a bridging course, and is now at university studying a Bachelor of Primary Teaching while many of her peers are still working their way through high school.

A proud Australian Muslim of Lebanese Palestinian background dedicated to advocating for her community. During Covid-19, she helped form the Muslim Women Australia’s Youth Advisory Committee to help address the issues young people were facing in the extended lockdown, particularly in Southwest Sydney.

A certified swim instructor, Khadijah also teaches swimming to women who have escaped domestic violence, contributing to their healing process. Across her various community roles, she mentors young girls using culturally and religiously inclusive mental health and leadership strategies.

Proudly supported by Coles.

People’s Choice Award, Project

The Sydney Metro City and Southwest project, developed over a decade, is set to transform Sydney’s public transport and reshape the city.

The team grappled with so many complex challenges to make it work – including tunneling below Sydney Harbour and skyscrapers, and building a new metro station beneath Central Station. Then there was Covid-19 and a change in government. It couldn’t have been achieved without deep and sustained collaboration among the thousands of people working on the project, over that time, particularly from the core organisations including Sydney Metro, Northwest Rapid Transit, MTR Corporation and Metro Trains Sydney.

The project is already serving as an immediate catalyst for new housing around metro stations. It will be a huge economic enabler by boosting productivity, reducing road and rail congestion and encouraging business densification, as well as driving culture by providing better access to key nighttime economy centres.

Proudly supported by Coles.

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The 2024 judging panel for the Sydney Awards included:

• The Hon. Chris Minns MP, Premier of New South Wales
• The Hon. Mark Speakman SC MP, Leader of the Opposition
• Kate Russell, CEO, Supply Nation
• Lindy Deitz, General Manager, Campbelltown City Council
• Ben English, Editor, The Daily Telegraph
• Caroline Vu, Chief of Staff, Boundless
• Christine Covington, Head of Gender Equality and Consultant, Corrs Chambers Westgarth
• Professor Eric Knight, Executive Dean, Macquarie Business School

Eamon Waterford, CEO of the Committee for Sydney, said: “Where in the world opens a new metro line, a new globally-significant arts and culture space and has the world’s eyes on our sporting prowess in the same year (and that’s just mentioning our Project of the Year finalists)? Sydney – that’s where.

“Sydney’s the home of the tall poppy syndrome, but I’m an evidence-based type of guy, and I’m sorry – the evidence doesn’t stack up, Sydney isn’t bad, it’s not ok, it’s not even just good. The technical data assesses Sydney as bloody fantastic. That’s the scientific term for our city.

“That’s why these awards are so important – a moment each year when we can come together to celebrate the vibrant, diverse, complex, capable achievements of this city, and take the opportunity to water some of the extraordinary poppies that happen to be growing tall.”