Celebrating International Women's Day

Last week we celebrated International Women’s Day with a week of celebrations, organised and led by students of the Feminist Collective (FemCo).

On Monday we held a discussion panel about on the topic of women in various industries and how we can #PressForProgress. We were joined by Lidia Thorpe (Greens MP for Northcote), Jane Lange (AFLW Melbourne Assistant Coach, Darebin Falcons Senior Coach, Teacher), Cheryl Durongpisitkul (Jazz musician), and Elyse McInerney (International Women’s Development Agency), and the discussion was facilitated by year 12 student Eva Jorden.

On Tuesday we had the third annual installation of Herstory Hackathon – an event where students become Wikipedia editors, research and write an article about a notable woman, and upload it to Wikipedia. Currently only 1 in 5 Wikipedia editors are female, and there is a gender imbalance in the representation of historic and notable figures so this event is all about striving for equality in the way our history is recorded!

Wednesday was casual clothes day with the theme of Dress to Express. Students were encouraged to dress in a way that they feel best expresses their individuality, incorporating purple, the official colour of International Women’s Day. This was a gold coin donation event and all funds raised go to supporting the International Women’s Development Agency (https://iwda.org.au/).

There was also a bake sale happening at lunchtime, with everything selling out in possibly a record 10 minutes!

Thursday was the official International Women’s Day. At lunchtime we held the inaugural Fiona Richardson Award ceremony for an inspirational and influential female in our community who has contributed to the progress of women and girls. The recipient of the award was Jane Lange for her work in football for women and girls, as well as her contribution as a teacher at Northcote High School. This was followed by a wonderful musical performance by several of our own students, a lovely way to finish the week.

Throughout the week, students worked on writing a message about an inspirational woman in their life (there were a lot of mother’s, sisters and grandmothers making the list!) which became a part of an art piece located in the library. Jaymie Metcalf, Finbarr Drinan, the Art Club students, and FemCo students worked hard to build the interactive and textural piece. This art piece will be in the library for the remainder of the term so if you haven’t yet seen it and you get a chance, please come and take a look.

All in all, a massive $1611 was raised across the week which goes to supporting international and local programs supporting the development of rights and conditions for women and girls in various communities through the International Women’s Development Agency.