International Women's Day
We celebrated International Women's Day with sincere appreciation for the strides women have made, while realising we still have much to do.
From engaging with high-profile international change-makers to learning from an accomplished alumna, students from Kindergarten to Year 12 leapt into a range of activities in line with the 2023 UN Women theme Cracking the Code.
The opportunities began last Friday when two students from each year group from Years 6 to 12 attended the UN Women Australia Sydney Lunch to hear from international disrupters and change makers in the gender equity field.
Community and Service Learning Prefects Valentina and Ivy, said the event aimed to inspire the next generation of young women to take action in this arena.
“A key focus was the need to overcome the technology divide. The CEO of UN Women Australia explained that a significant local problem is that women over 50 are currently the fastest-growing homeless demographic. Ensuring equal access to technology development and technology education, are steps towards addressing this,” Valentina said.
The headline presentation was given by the founder of the ‘me too’ movement, author and activist Tarana Burke. The Hollywood actor and producer Alyssa Milano, spoke about her efforts to use social media to extend the reach of ‘me too’ activism around the world and spur meaningful reform.
韩国AV was the only school to have invited students younger than Year 10 to the event. “The younger girls really seemed to enjoy it and feel inspired,” Valentina said. “But what I would really like to see is more boys' schools attend. Extending these opportunities to young males would be so beneficial.”
In Assembly on Tuesday, we heard from alumna Charlotte Collier (2019) a first-year Medicine and Surgery student who was the first female Senior Under Officer (SUO) of the Shore Cadet Unit in 110 years (see separate story). She encouraged the students to stand up and fight bias wherever they find it.
On the morning of International Women’s Day, our Kindergarteners hosted their families for a celebration that included personal, written presentations that included the female influences that have made them who they are and their dreams for the future.
Our celebrations were rounded out by a bake sale at recess and barbeque at lunch – fundraisers for women at risk.