Girl power was out in force at Government House in NSW today when a unique group of more than 80 women attended the Women of the World reception hosted by the Governor of NSW Marie Bashir with the Duchess of Cornwall as a very special guest.
It was an impressive collection of women gathered in Government House’s Ballroom, which included film director Gillian Armstrong, Today show host Lisa Wilkinson, Gold medal-winning Paralympian Carol Cooke, author Nikki Gemmel, singer Katie Noonan, writer Anne Summers, Linda Burney MP, The Weekly’s Editor-in-Chief Helen McCabe and newly elected Woollahra Councillor Deborah Thomas.
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They were here to spread the word and initiate change which is something the Duchess of Cornwall is pretty familiar with.
Women of the World (WOW) is a global festival initiated by London’s Southbank Centre in 2011 to celebrate the achievements of girls and women as well as examine the obstacles that prevent them from achieving their potential.
The Duchess of Cornwall has been involved with WOW since its inception last year, and has hosted two WOW receptions at Clarence House.
And today Jude Kelly OBE, Artistic Director of Southbank Centre and WOW, couldn’t wait to get Australia involved.
“With the great support of Her Royal Highness here we have assembled what I think is a tremendous global opportunity for women to recognise their true potential, to revisit history and realise the achievements that women have made across all walks of life throughout history, throughout the world and then to unlock the potential for girls and women and boys and men when they realise that gender equality could really bring us a different kind of future,” she announced in an inspirational and rousing speech.
“Now all of you in your own sectors are doing great work, but the idea behind Women of the World is to bring all those sectors together, in order to be more than the sum of our parts. Let’s imagine a world where we have equality. Let’s imagine a world when we are not thinking about the millions of girls who can’t get an education, when we are not thinking about the violence that some people have to negotiate as a daily activity.
“The point is that with ladies like Her Royal Highness and like yourselves, it’s up to us to be less timorous in announcing how much better the world will be when equality comes.”
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Jude plans to launch WOW in Australia next year, celebrating the women, past and present, who have shaped the country’s history and culture, with talks, debates, music and workshops and here she’s certainly assembled the women to do the job.
It’s not often a member of the royal family is so outwardly campaigning, but following in the footsteps of her husband, Camilla is proving to be someone who is prepared to get behind things she’s passionate about and as she mingled with guests it was clear her passion was infectious.
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