Kiama Council hosted its inaugural, rebooted International Women’s Day event last week at The Pavilion.
The event was organised by a committed group of locals who formed the idea during Council’s CEO Picnics late last year.
“A group of us felt strongly that Kiama should mark International Women’s Day by including all the diverse communities we have here within Kiama. We reached out and it has been amazing to watch so many powerful and smart women of different backgrounds respond,” said community group representative Eva Loxley.
The program they put together, with the support of Kiama Council, included talks, workshops and interactive sessions, plus a buffet lunch and post-event drinks. The event was sold out, with 165 people attending, despite heavy rain and flooding in some areas.
It also raised $820 for the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre.
Kiama’s Deputy Mayor and keynote speaker Imogen Draisma said: “It was a heartwarming experience to be in a room full of women again. Despite challenging weather conditions and flooding events to our south, it was great to see so many people at this well put together event. Today has seen an inclusive group – spanning a range of age, gender, sexuality and background- achieve some great outcomes.”
Council’s CEO Jane Stroud, another speaker on the day, said “We are living in a time of exciting change for women in the workforce and I’m glad that Local Government is changing too.”
The recent NSW council elections saw a dramatic rise in the number of women councillors, who now make up 39.5% of all councillors in the state, after sitting around 30% for nearly a decade.
“Kiama Council has a proud history of female leadership, and our new-look Council reflects that. It extends beyond our elected councillors as well – we have amazing women doing great work across our organisation and 64% of our staff are female.”
Ms Stroud expressed her thanks to all speakers and workshop facilitators, and a special thankyou to Tamara Campbell (Kiki Bittovabitsch) for carrying out the honest, raw, entertaining and hilarious emcee role.
Council also thaneds the NSW Government, Fiona Phillips MP, Makuta Youth and the Kiama Farmers’ Market for supporting the event, and thus allowing for school aged and disadvantaged members of our community the ability to attend the event at no cost.
Council produced a four-minute video with funding from the NSW Government Youth Opportunities Fund as part of SENTRAL’s Create to Connect project that captures the spirit of the event.
