Hargraves Lecture 2025: Using What is in Your Hands to Create Change
This year’s Hargraves Lecture welcomes Mark and Anna Dombkins, the visionary founders of Forever Projects, a social impact initiative that began in Tanzania and has since sparked a global movement of changemakers.
Under the theme “What's in Your Hands”, Mark and Anna will share their journey from Wollongong to East Africa and back again — and how an idea born from one local family’s desire to respond to poverty has grown into a model of sustainable, community-led transformation.
Their address will offer deep insight into themes of leadership, innovation, purpose-driven enterprise, and systems change — reminding us that real impact often begins not with vast resources, but with conviction, creativity, and what’s already within reach.
This keynote aligns with the spirit of the Hargraves Lecture series, which celebrates individuals with Illawarra ties who are making extraordinary contributions beyond our region — and invites reflection on the ways we can all make a difference.
About Mark & Anna Dombkin, Founders of Forever Projects
Mark and Anna Dombkins have six children, three of whom were adopted while they lived and worked in Tanzania between 2010-13. Their adoption journey was the catalyst for launching Forever Projects in 2015, with a mission to end the Tanzanian orphan crisis through income creation for women.
Mark began his career as a high school maths teacher in Wollongong. He continued working as an educator while living in Tanzania and, after returning to Wollongong, founded Forever Projects in 2015. Mark now leads the organisation’s storytelling, strategy, and global partnerships — helping donors, businesses, and community groups connect with the movement to end poverty sustainably. He is a dynamic speaker known for his ability to translate complex global issues into personal, actionable stories.
Anna studied Psychology at the University of Wollongong and began her counselling work in the Illawarra. During her years in Tanzania, Anna worked as a school psychologist and boarding parent at the International School where she and Mark lived with. She is a Founding Director of Forever Projects, and her leadership remains central to the charity's evolving impact. Anna is also a writer, and her book about their adoption journey is currently being published, scheduled for release in early 2026.