Check out Diageo Asia CEO Sam Fischer's predictions for 2016!

The evening included inspiring remarks by

• Kamila Sidiqi, Deputy chief of staff at the President’s Office, Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
• Kevin Rudd, President, Asia Society Policy Institute and former Prime Minister, Australia
• Daniel Franklin, Executive editor, The Economist

Photo opp with Sam Fischer, President of Diageo, Greater China and Asia

Kamila Sidiqi, entrepreneur, government official, and the subject of New York Times Bestseller The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, talks about living with the Taliban and launching a women's taxi service. According to Kamila, the future looks bright for Afghan women!

 Kevin Rudd was the keynote speaker at the Gala. Here are some key takeaways from remarks:

• Paris will bring together a more robust coalition among otherwise unlikely allies 
• We need to attack the base of ISIS & better engage w Muslim communities elsewhere
• China will become the largest global economy in the next decade with huge repercussions 
• There are signs of hope in the US-China climate change & China reaching out to Taiwan, Korea & SE Asia
• We need quality media to facilitate informed debate about impt global issues
• We still don't know how to return the economy to sustainable global growth
• We need a global humanitarian distribution policy to deal w the refugee pandemic 

The According to the Economist, women will be centre stage in 2016! 

The Economist predicts that women will be at the heart of many of the biggest decisions of 2016. Investors will be watching for rate rises at Janet Yellen’s Federal Reserve. Hillary Clinton will be the candidate to beat in the race for the White House. Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, will be at the forefront of the European Union’s response both to the migrant drama and to Britain’s demands in advance of its in-or-out referendum on EU membership. And Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, faces a battle to resist impeachment. Meanwhile, closer to home, it will be interesting to see how Asia’s female heads of state in Bangladesh, South Korea and most recently, Myanmar exercise their leadership in 2016.