Media Release
29 April 2014
YWCA OF CANBERRA ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF
2014 GREAT YDEAS SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM
29 April 2014: Five young women were awarded with Great Ydeas Small Grants by the Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher at the YWCA of Canberra’s Round the World Breakfast event this morning.
An initiative of the YWCA of Canberra, the Great Ydeas Small Grants Program supports women from Canberra and the surrounding regions to achieve their full potential, and enhance their contribution to themselves, their families and their community.
Ms Frances Crimmins, Executive Director of the YWCA of Canberra said the Great Ydeas Small Grants Program fosters innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership in the local community.
“This program is one of the ways that the YWCA of Canberra can help women follow their dreams, and make a direct investment in women in our local community.” Ms Crimmins said.
First launched in 2010, the Great Ydeas Small Grants Program traditionally provides an annual funding pool of $8,000. However, with the support of the Zonta Canberra Chapter, the YWCA of Canberra was able to offer $10,000 in funding this year.
The Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher said “This program provides another important incentive for Canberra women to take action to make their great ideas a reality.”
“Women often have unique ideas but sometimes don’t have the means to make these ideas come to life. I congratulate the winners of the 2014 Great Ydeas Small Grants and hope that they can be a source of inspiration to other women to take action to make their ideas a reality,’ the Chief Minister said.
Projects supported by the program aim to raise the profile of women’s issues, contribute to policy development and public discussion about gender equality, promote cultural diversity, support intergenerational leadership, and enhance women’s professional and personal skills.
The YWCA of Canberra is pleased to congratulate the following women on their successful applications:
Caterina Giorgi, People for Purpose
People for Purpose (P4P) is a pilot project that will develop and implement tailored professional development training to support women working in the ACT not-for-profit sector, such as advocacy campaign design, strategic communications, and project management. The project will include a ‘Getting to Know the Sector’ training course, featuring presentations from established Sector workers and leaders. Upon completion, participants will become members of the P4P Ideas Network, a sounding board and support system to assist in professional ideas development and problem solving.
Hannah McCann, attendance at the Femme Conference 2014
The Femme Conference is held bi-annually in the United States and seeks to explore, discuss, dissect, and support Queer Femme as a transgressive, gender-queer, stand-alone, and empowered identity, and provide a space for organising and activism within Queer communities. After attending the Conference, Hannah will present her PhD research on queer femme identity.
Caitlin Sandercock, Development and Aid Workers Network
The Development and Aid Workers Network (DAWN) is an online knowledge hub for volunteer and professional aid and development workers. The project aims to enhance DAWN by developing a suite of new resources for aid workers, recruiting volunteers to provide advice on key topics, and advocating for accreditation by country embassies.
Hannah Wandel, Country to Canberra
Country to Canberra gives passionate rural girls the opportunity visit Canberra, Australia’s heart of decision-making, to motivate leadership potential. It aims to combat unique barriers faced by regional and remote students, and strengthen links between them and Australia’s political epicentre. The project will run an essay competition for Year 11 students, with the winner travelling to Canberra to attend a breakfast with four powerful female community leaders, and participate in tours of Parliament House and the National Gallery.
Heidi Zajac, Cooking Circles
The Cooking Circles project will leverage digital communication and social media to connect Australian and Timorese young women to share cooking processes and recipes, stories, and build friendships. Each Cooking Circles event will be recorded using video, stills photography and blogging technology, and shared via social media. The project will provide participants with an opportunity to learn about community development, gender equality and strengths-based work.
Frances Crimmins and select grantees are available for interview.
Media contact:
Joanna Allebone 0450 962 842
About the YWCA of Canberra: The YWCA of Canberra is a feminist, not-for-profit organisation that has been providing community services and representing women’s issues in the Canberra community since its establishment in 1929. The YWCA of Canberra employs more than 350 staff across the ACT, and delivers 30 quality programs in children’s services, community development, housing, youth services, women’s leadership, advocacy, and training. Represented in 122 countries, the YWCA has a global reach of 25 million women and girls. As part of this international movement, the YWCA of Canberra works for a world where reconciliation, justice, peace, health, human dignity, freedom and care for the environment are promoted and sustained through women’s leadership. For more information visit: www.ywca-canberra.org.au
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