To mark 125th anniversary of the passing of the Adult Suffrage Bill, giving women the right to vote in South Australia, the City of Burnside hosts workshop titled Their Triumph, Our Motivation
Suffrage 125 School’s Forum attracted the greatest minds, strongest activists, and most progressive leaders from across the State.
The quest for gender equality in our society has come a long way, and as we celebrate its progress in every walk of life, we must acknowledge there is still much to be done. The dial is definitely shifting—just not fast enough.
Positives became more visible since we first had our right to vote, but the commitment to equality is embedded in everything we do, not just limiting to the voting right. It is critical for young women to see role models holding positions of influence, who in turn, can drive change from within. Clearly, more depth and diversity is needed in every sector.
Believing women and girls empowerment is essential in expanding economic growth and promoting social development in a sustainable way, Suffrage School’s Forum was celebrated in Adelaide.
As 2019 marks the 125th anniversary of the passing of the Adult Suffrage Bill, giving women the right to vote in South Australia and to stand for Parliament, the City of Burnside is commemorated this anniversary by hosting a workshop titled Their Triumph, Our Motivation. Anne Monceaux—Mayor of Burnside, organised a high powered group of women to talk to schoolgirls from local schools about their future.
A panel of leading South Australian women was invited to share their journey and inspire the next generation of female trailblazers and young female leaders from a local schools. Among the panelists were Hon Vickie Chapman Deputy Premier of SA and Attorney General, Saru Rana—Human Rights advocate, Anne Monceaux—Mayor of Burnside, Evelyn O’Loughlin of Volunteers SA, Vicky Welgraven—Aboriginal Advocate, Marijana Rajcic—AFL footballer and Lisa Gascoigne—Young Women’s Leadership Coordinator YWCA.
The afternoon saw young women representing their local colleges and high schools, hearing from current female politicians, activists and leaders who have broken the glass ceiling, and participate in a workshop activity to provide mentoring, advice and a question and answer session.
A pop-up exhibition celebrating milestone achievements of South Australian women was mounted, with a focus on the Burnside area, also including a few ‘blanks’ for the young women to aspire to, such as ‘first female Premier of South Australia’, ‘first indigenous member of the SA Parliament’, ‘first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of SA’ and ‘first female Speaker of the House of Assembly SA’.
The events aim to promote the visibility of female political participation, inspire young women to use their voice and follow their dreams, with inspirational stories and accessibility of female leaders to equip the students with tangible skills to be future leaders and activists.
The advice given was ‘Be bold, Be confident, LEARN through every means possible’. “Gender equality is seeing males and females as being of equal status and value. It is judging a person based on their merit, and not viewing them as inferior or superior purely based on their gender. Equal rights are not enough. Inequality exists in our minds, in our biases and prejudices, and that remains to be fixed,” says Saru Rana.
The engagement of the secondary school girls was amazing.
Anne Monceaux deserves congratulations along with the fabulous team of Burnside City Council.
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