STUDENT FOCUS

Earlier this year students were given the opportunity to enter the 2021 Leadership Competition. Students from rural Australia were asked to write a response to the question:

COURAGE TO CHALLENGE: what is the role of rural women in driving change in their communities?

The 2021 winners and finalists were described as an exciting group of young female rural leaders, who submitted passionate videos and stories about gender equality and rural Australia.

Congratulation to Hannah-Leesha Moodley, Winner 2021

Hannah-Leesha is one of our 2021 Leadership Competition winners. You can check out her winning entry here and her bio here.

“…the role of rural women in driving change in their communities is to combat norms that define them primarily as wives and mothers, but also to promote them as working-class citizens who are striving to empower other rural women to claim their rights to land, leadership, opportunities, choices, to participate in shaping laws, policies and programs. Empowering them is key not only to the well-being of individuals, families, and rural communities but also to overall economic productivity.”

Congratulations to Kate Moonpen-Euvrard, Finalist 2021

Kate was a finalist and her entry here. 

“On the condition that women and girls are granted education and opportunities, they then can rise to become tremendous forces for change within their families, communities, and nations…...Women and minorities experience both unconscious and conscious biases, such as a lack of access to education, trouble obtaining finances, societal expectations, and the difficulty of reconciling work and family life.

In the attempt for change we must be deliberate in our use of innovation to positively impact the lives of women and girls…”