Today, Wednesday 8 March, is International Women’s Day (IWD), a globally recognised opportunity for us to celebrate women’s achievements and raise awareness about further need for progress to achieve gender equality. The United Nation Women Australia theme for IWD 2023 is Cracking the Code: Innovation for a gender equal future.
To mark IWD in 2023 here in PAE, we are sharing the achievements of some of the remarkable and inspiring women from across our City and our organisation. These women are leaders, trailblazers, innovators, educators and community capacity builders who empower and inspire others. They make a difference to our community every day and have been generous to share with us their words of wisdom.
| Rosemary Wanganeen "Nurture your humanity to be curious; ask questions; take initiative so you and your life purpose embrace each other!" For thirty years, Rosemary has studied and researched in the areas of health and wellbeing. She is studying towards a Masters of Philosophy and will be showcasing her research on "griefology" at a Symposium at the Healing Centre during NAIDOC Week 2023. Rosemary was the City of PAE's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elder of the Year in 2022. |
| Ma-Musu Nyande "Take your healing as seriously as you take your other relationships - because the longest relationship you will ever have is the one with yourself" Ma-Musu is a young leader and community advocate within the African Community in South Australia. She was recognised as the City of PAE's Young Citizen of the Year 2022, for her work with young women from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Ma-Masu has inspired women of all backgrounds to use their voice to speak up and created safe spaces for young African females. |
| Flindyrarose Ly "You won’t know what you’re capable of until you put yourself out there" Flindyrarose is a volunteer with the City of PAE's STEM Squad - a role through which she teaches young people more about using technology. She is also in her third year of a Bachelor of Software Engineering at the University of Adelaide. Through her interest in engineering and her love of science, Flindyrarose is encouraging young women and girls to pursue career pathways in technology. |
| Jess James "Live your passion!" Jess is the founder of Cook N Create. She has developed a cooking program for children that can be delivered alongside the Australian Primary Curriculum. She works to demonstrate the importance of cooking with children from a young age and showcasing the value of learning in a practical context to consolidate and extend classroom learning through cooking. Photo credit to Pinacolada Photography. |
| Lara Ridley "Speaking out about issues of mental health makes a real difference. People want to listen, and people want to help" Lara was recognised as our Junior Citizen of the Year 2023. As part of her studies, Lara independently developed a cutlery set that includes engraved affirmations to support people suffering from eating disorders. She created her own social media platform, developed her own website, and has the support of both the Butterfly Foundation and the Women's and Children's Hospital. She has already begun selling her product, which sees her donating 30% of the profits to the Butterfly Foundation. |
| Sophia Katari "Don’t only ever see things to be as distinct as black and white, right or wrong – take time to ponder and understand the grey areas in between" Sophia is the Manager of Junction Community Centre, which aims to create a welcoming, safe, responsive, inclusive and supportive environment, working with the community to help it meet the needs of individuals, families and community groups in the local area. With a passion for cultural inclusivity, Sophia has worked tirelessly in community centres for approximately 20 years with communities and individuals from Muslim and Aboriginal backgrounds, new arrivals and refugees, and people born in Australia. She is our Citizen of the Year 2023. |
| Catherine McMahon "Opening our hearts to the natural world can help sustain us." Catherine is the founder and Hon Exec Officer for the Estuary Care Foundation. She has worked to secure grants and raise funds for restoration and environmental projects, managed projects and volunteers, advocated for sea level rise to be addressed along the Port River (including through eco-engineering solutions) and sought a governance structure to be established for the River. She was on the initial committee establishing the Port Environment Centre and then became the inaugural Chair of the Centre’s Management Committee (2019 to 2022), contributing to the successful development of the Centre including though strategy and governance, sourcing funds and building support in the community for the Centre. |
 | Jodie Evans Jodie is the founder of Project 18, a wellbeing collective based in Port Adelaide. The collective work together to offer a range of therapeutic services to a broad range of clients. Jodie started Project 18 in 2019 when she leased a beautiful 1860 built residence and turned it into a wellbeing hub. Since then Jodie has been building community connections and collaborations to transform the south end of Lipson Street which has included Paint Ya Poles and Arbor Day projects. |
| Jan Angelo “Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and authentic and stay true to you! You will be surprised at how good it feels. Your people will find you." Jan is Health and Wellbeing Coordinator at the City of PAE. Her work on the ‘The Loneliness Cure Award’ was nominated as a semi-finalist in the 'Community Achievement Awards’. She has delivered many community programs and groups, including ‘Living Well at The Lights’ based around ‘The Seven Way’s to Wellbeing’ - Connect, Keep Learning, Take Notice, Be active, Give back, Eat Well and Sleep Well. |
| Rosslyn Ward "Be kind to each other and most of all…yourself!" Rosslyn is a passionate youth and community worker. She contributed to the creation and delivery of a program to support young people to obtain a driver's license. Building confidence in driving can be a barrier to many people who face challenges in getting behind the wheel. Being able to drive for work, study, caring or other reasons and to be able to get around our wonderful city is something many of us take for granted but, not all of us have access to. |
| Jenny Thompson “If you have a dream, you have to commit to it. Ignore the bad days and just keep going." Jenny is a writer and cricket player, who this April is embarking on "Her World Cricket Tour" - a journey to more than 50 countries where women's cricket is played. She will join local teams, playing, coaching and mentoring female cricketers and then write a book about the experience. Along the way, she is fundraising for The LBW Trust's Women For Change program which educates girls living in poverty. |
| City of PAE Technology (Libraries) Team "Any technology skill can be learned with time and patience." |
| Julie-Ann Finney "Women are capable of everything if they have passion." Julie-Ann is an advocate, lobbyist, fundraiser, counsellor who has brought about national awareness to suicide and PTSD in veterans. In 2019, after serving in the Royal Australian Navy for 20 years, Julie-Ann’s son, David tragically took his own life. Bereaved, Julie-Ann was determined to find answers. The incident rate amongst veterans such as David was alarmingly high and so Julie-Ann commenced her journey of fighting to ensure no other veteran’s family should suffer the same anguish. Obtaining 400,000 signatures, she petitioned tirelessly for the establishment of a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, which finally commenced late last year. |
| Rose Darling "Never be afraid to ask or receive advice from those who are in position to do so." Rose is very well known across the City of PAE as the Founder of a registered charity - Community Help and Togetherness Inc (CHATS). Rose’s charity provides breakfast to more than 50 people every Friday from the Masonic Lodge Hall in Port Adelaide. Rose has built relationships with local businesses where she collects bread, fresh produce and non-perishable items to pack for others. Rose was our Citizen of the Year in 2022. |
| Bernadette McDonnell and Sandra Dann "Working with nature helps us believe in a better future. The benefits outweigh the effort." Bernadette and Sandra are volunteers with the Semaphore Largs Dunes Group. Each week they are involved in activities to preserve a large stretch of our beautiful coastline. Through their work, they monitor and protect the natural biodiversity of the coastal environment by identifying issues such as weed and pest invasion, pedestrian access, storm-water discharge and erosion. They are involved in seed collection, rubbish removal and re-vegetation, activities which help sustain the integrity of this diverse and important area. |
| Amy Wood and Cindy Halkias Amy and Cindy joined The Lights team when the centre opened in 2019. Both women are passionate about their work in the Sport and Recreation industry. Their genuine care, interest, and strong relationships with the community have helped them build positive relationships with members at the Lights. They believe in supporting and empowering others to achieve their wellness goals. |
| Emma Sandery "We all have a role to play in a positive environmental future. For the sake of our beautiful planet now is the time to step up." Emma runs the Port Environment Centre, a non-profit community organisation that supports the community to live sustainably and value and care for our environment. At the Centre, she has created a welcoming community hub. From the Centre, she supports local environmental action, and delivers educational opportunities for people of the area to learn more about our environment and living sustainability. |
| Lee-Anne Lupton "No act of kindness is ever wasted; the ripples created are immeasurable and intrinsically valuable." Lee-Anne is a passionate social justice advocate, who this May is embarking on a 2600km solo run from Perth to Adelaide, to raise awareness and funds to end homelessness. She has been training for 30 hours a week, for the past two years. You can support her efforts and find out more on her Pup & Girl website. |