International Women's Day 2015 - Make it Happen
Thanks to a small grant from the Leadership Development for Women Steering Committee, a
group of interested Wagga Wagga Campus staff was able to successfully host a panel discussion
to mark International Women’s Day 2015.
The vision of the group was to facilitate a discussion and raise interest around:
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the recognition of the unique perspectives and strategies women bring to their
communities, and
how society can further the opportunities for women to learn, grow and connect to reach
their full potential.
From initial discussions with Wagga Wagga City Council about an appropriate venue for the
event, the idea evolved to a joint initiative between CSU and WWCC.
Held at the Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre on Tuesday 10 March, 2015, the ‘Make it Happen’ panel
discussion explored concepts of gender equality through a regional lens.
The high profile panel included:
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Panel Chair Jane Singleton, AM
Denele Crozier, CEO Women’s Health NSW
Steve Jobson, Commandant of the Army Recruit Training Centre, Kapooka
Rowan O’Hagan, CSU Council member and researcher
Kieran Moore, CEO Ogilvy PR
Donna Murray, CEO of Indigenous Allied Health Australia
Miriam Silva, Director TAFE SA
A free community event, the discussion attracted an audience of more than 320 community
members and an online audience (live streaming) of around 60 people.
Outcomes
Overall, the event exceeded expectations. There were many benefits coming as a result of the
event including:
* CSU and WWCC partnership
* Community engagement, including positioning CSU as thought leader and broker of important
community discussions
* Fundraising for Wagga Women’s Health Centre ($130)
* Professional Development for members of the working party. Each person involved in the event
felt immense satisfaction after the successful staging of ‘Make it Happen’ and is interested in
being a part of something like this in the future.
Discussions between CSU and WWCC about similar events into the future are ongoing.
Watch clips from the night:
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Make it Happen – Australian attitudes post to Muslims post Lindt Cafe incident
Make it Happen – One punch laws – why aren’t we as up in arms about Domestic
Violence?
Make it Happen – Should Australia have a Minister for Women?
Make it Happen – Supporting the aspirations of Indigenous students
Make it Happen – Women and financial disadvantage
Event Report
10 March 2015
All around the world, International Women’s Day (IWD) represents an opportunity to celebrate the
achievements of women while calling for greater equality. Each year IWD is celebrated in March
to mark the economic, political and social achievement of women throughout history and across
nations. This International Women’s Day, Charles Sturt University joined forces with Wagga
Wagga City Council to host the ‘Make it Happen’ Q&A Panel to discuss gender equality through a
regional lens.
Working party
Amanda Tarbit, Peita Vincent, Wendy De Luca, Raegan Petzel, Julie Cleary, and Jacquie
Blomfield.
Background
Each year, the Leadership Development for Women (LDW) steering committee offers grants for
activities that provide professional development and networking opportunities to Alumni of the
LDW program. In September 2014, a group interested staff members began discussing an event
to mark International Women’s Day 2015. Animated discussions followed, and it was decided that
a Q&A style discussion with an expert panel would make for an intellectually stimulating and
entertaining event.
Our vision was to facilitate a discussion and raise interest around:
 the recognition of the unique perspectives and strategies women bring to their
communities, and
 how can society further the opportunities for women to learn, grow and connect to reach
their full potential.
A grant application was submitted and the Working Party was thrilled to receive confirmation that
the submission had been successful.
Discussions then began in earnest, and a conversation about using the Wagga Wagga Civic
Theatre resulted in Wagga Wagga City Council agreeing to partner with CSU on hosting the
event. The event date was coordinated around a Mayoral Reception to launch the Wagga
Women’s Health Integrated Strategic Plan just prior to the Q&A Panel.
The approaches to the Panellists were made prior to Christmas and into the New Year and we
were very happy with the positive responses we had from our invitations to the Panellists.
Facilitator and Panellists
Working party member Wendy Deluca facilitated the panel liaison as well as securing Jane
Singleton as event facilitator. Jane and her extensive experience as an ABC Reporter and
Presenter provided a professional element to the event and no doubt gave confidence to the
Panellists to get involved. We also appreciated Raegan Petzel and Julie Cleary’s assistance in
working with Corporate Services in the approaches to Dr Allan and Dr O’Hagan.
The calibre of the Facilitator and Panellists of this event captured the imagination of the
community and the attendance numbers attributed to this.
The Q&A Panel consisted of (see full bio’s in Appendix 1):
• Ms Denele Crozier - CEO of Women’s Health NSW
• Colonel Steve Jobson - Commandant of the Army Recruit Training Centre, Kapooka
• Dr Rowan O’Hagan - CSU Council Member, and Researcher
• Ms Kieran Moore - CEO of Ogilvy PR, and active campaigner for gender equality (also a
CSU Alumnus)
• Ms Donna Murray - CEO of Indigenous Allied Health Australia
• Ms Miriam Silva - Director TAFE SA, and member of the Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs
Commission
All the feedback the Working Party members received from the Panellists was very positive.
Event promotion
Working Party members Peita Vincent, Raegan Petzel and Amanda Tarbit assisted with event
promotion.
Local graphic designer Elizabeth Robinson donated her time to creating promotional materials
including posters, postcards, web and email banners. CSU Print also assisted with printing our
promotional collateral at a reduced rate.
The Division of Marketing and Communications created the Make it Happen website and assisted
with promotion via CSU’s social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and media
network’s
Wagga Wagga City Council looked after with poster distribution and handled all seat bookings
through the Civic Theatre website.
Considering the small promotional lead time, the web statistics are impressive:
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Unique views – 1623 unique page views
Clicks on booking button - 69 clicks = Click through rate of 0.04%
Number of questions submitted online – 22 questions submitted
Clicks through from homepage banner – 649 unique clicks
Internal Communication
To ensure all CSU staff located in Wagga was aware of the event, we published a number of
posts on What’s News and Yammer, and sent out emails to our internal networks. Linda Breen
promoted the event at the Admin Services Conference and Sarah Ansell promoted it with the
LDW network. Although it is hard to gauge we would estimate at least 50 CSU staff and students
were in attendance and a couple of staff and students asked a question of the panel on the night.
Media coverage
CSU Media issued a media release about the event around two weeks before the event.
ABC Riverina provided a good outlet for promotions, with working party members Wendy Deluca
and Amanda Tarbit interviewed on the Morning Show two weeks prior to the event, Raegan Petzel
interviewed for ABC Riverina News and Jane Singleton interviewed on the Morning Show the day
of the event.
The Daily Advertiser ran two small articles and there was a mention on Wagga Life FM. Despite
placement of an advertisement in the Daily Advertiser, their coverage was limited (see Appendix
2).
Other
The Wagga Women in Business President promoted the event at one of their luncheon’s two
weeks prior to the Q&A Panel. Personal emails also were sent to Local High Schools, Calvary
Hospital Senior Executive, Community Groups, 16 local councils within the region (via WWCC),
Civic Theatre Subscribers, Daryl Maguire and Michael McCormick. The event was promoted on a
number of events calendar webpages.
Reference Group
To ensure the event best represented the community, a reference group meeting was held on
February 18 with 15 people representing different community organisations present. This was a
fruitful meeting, both in terms of letting people from very different sectors of the community know
about the event, but also in unearthing some of the gender equality issues affecting Wagga
Wagga residents.
The key organisations represented were: Wagga Women in Business, Women's Health Clinic,
CSU International Club President and PhD scholar, Sureway Employment & Training, RAAF,
Rivcoll SRC President, DCO, Centacare, Multicultural Council of Wagga Wagga, Riverina Group
CWA, WWCC Community Development Team, and the CSU Head of Campus / WW Business
Chamber of Commerce.
A total of 35 questions were received for the event, including questions from Member for Wagga
Wagga Daryl Maguire, Member for Riverina Michael McCormack, and Labor Party Candidate
Daniel Hayes.
Ticketing
The Civic Theatre Booking Office details were a bit confusing (while it was a free event, the call to
action online was a ‘buy tickets’ button). On the night we had 381 tickets booked out of a possible
485, however based on the tickets that were not get picked up, the estimate for the night is 320.
The Civic Theatre website also had the option of donating money to the Wagga Women’s Health
Clinic. The fact that this was a separate and somewhat confusing process was likely a deterrent
for those booking online. If a charity is to be supported by future events, a rethink about donations
is required.
Live streaming
Staff from CSU’s Media Services team from DSL filmed the event and set up live streaming. This
was promoted through social media as well as internal CSU channels like What’s New and
Yammer.
A total of 57 attended the event via livestreaming. Unfortunately, due to internet connection
issues, there was a gap in the streaming.
Since the event Media Services uploaded the full video onto Youtube and have created 5 short
clips that we will put on Youtube and the LDW Website. We also had a number of staff asking for
the clip as they were unable to attend the event.
Budget
The LSW Steering Committee provided a $5000 grant which was mostly spent on the Panellist’s
travel costs, thank you gifts, live streaming, video editing, and a few other miscellaneous items.
The event costs would have been significantly higher if WWCC hadn’t partnered with us and
covered the cost of the Civic Theatre Hire and their professional staff, along with providing light
refreshments after the event and looking after the poster distribution around town. We were also
very fortunate that many of our Panellists were able to find their own accommodation in Wagga for
the evening of 10 March.
Outcomes
Overall, the event exceeded our expectations. There were many benefits coming as a result of the
event including:
 CSU and WWCC partnership
 Community engagement, including positioning CSU as thought leader and broker of
important community discussions
 Fundraising for Wagga Women’s Health Centre ($130)
 Professional Development for members of the working party. Each person involved in the
event felt immense satisfaction after the successful staging of ‘Make it Happen’ and is
interested in being a part of something like this in the future.
Future
There was a lot learned as a result of staging this event. Considerations around venue, lighting,
sound, panellists and format have been discussed. Promotions through other avenues and more
direct engagement of local media need to be considered.
There is agreed potential that a similar event could be held in the future in Wagga Wagga and in
other communities and that other LDW graduates may be keen to get involved.
Acknowledgements
• Sarah Ansell for doing the welcome and close
• Elizabeth Robinson, graphic designer
• CSU Print
• Aunty Isabel Reid, Wiradjuri Elder
• Members of the ‘Make it Happen’ Reference Group
• Wagga Wagga City Council Community Development Team
• Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre staff
• CSU Media Services
• Division of Marketing & Communication
The Working Party appreciated having the opportunity to represent CSU in the community and
create a memorable event. The impact is really unknown, however we hope that the event
planted some ideas; raised awareness of important issues for the community and decision makers
to address; sparked an interest or passion; facilitated personal reflection; and ideally moved
people to further action.
Appendix 1
Jane Singleton, AM (Panel Facilitator) Jane has had long and
diverse media career nationally and internationally and is
perhaps best known for her role as the inaugural presenter and
senior reporter for ABC TV’s 7.30 Report. She has also worked
on The Age (Melbourne), The Financial Times, The Economist,
and The Daily Mail (UK publications) and ABC Radio. Following
her media career Jane built an innovative PR and Public Affairs
Consultancy specialising in ethical campaigns in the public
interest. She has worked on and coordinated a number of highly
successful campaigns for human rights and social justice. Jane
has spoken widely on issues relating to women, children and
media and advocacy and lectured at universities around
Australia. She has also held a wide number of directorial
positions, including as Chair of the International Aid Agency
ChildFund, Chair of the Interim National Accreditation Council on
Child Care, Chair of the Australian Consumers Council, Federal
President of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, and on
the Council of the National Gallery. She has recently retired as
the Director of the Sydney Peace Foundation. Jane was
awarded the Member of the Order of Australia for her services to
women, media, development, and the community.
Colonel Stephen Jobson (Commandant, Army Recruit
Training Centre) Colonel Jobson is currently serving as the
Commandant Army Recruit Training Centre. Colonel Jobson has
extensive command experience, including commanding a Black
Hawk troop at the 5th Aviation Regiment, which included a
humanitarian assistance deployment to Papua New Guinea in
1997, and a post as Aviation Task Group commander to
Pakistan for the post-earthquake disaster relief in 2005/06. In
2010/11 he commanded the 6th Aviation Regiment which saw
him lead the Australian Defence Force rotary wing group formed
to respond to the Queensland floods. His deployments include
Bosnia-Herzegovina (with the United States Army 82nd Aviation
Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division) and to Afghanistan with Task
Force Pegasus where he was subsequently awarded the US
Bronze Star Medal. Colonel Jobson has also served as the Aidede-Camp to Sir William Deane, AC, KBE, Governor General of
the Commonwealth of Australia and in 2012 he was awarded the
Conspicuous Service Cross for service as Commanding Officer
of the 6th Aviation Regiment. Since taking the helm at Kapooka,
Colonel Jobson has made issues surrounding violence against
women a focus. Since the Australian Defence Force embraced
the White Ribbon movement, the ARTC has been active in all
local campaigns and signed a Memorandum of Understanding
with the Wagga Women’s Health Centre in 2013 to ‘combat
violence against women and assist in further developing a
culture where all personnel at ARTC are respected and work in a
non-sexist and non-violent environment’. Colonel Jobson is
described as a “committed champion” for the cause here in
Wagga.
Dr Rowan O’Hagan (Charles Sturt University Council) Rowan
is passionate about regional communities and the vital role of
quality education and governance in sustainable economic and
community development. A member of Charles Sturt University
Council and a director of North East Water and the WAW Credit
Union, Rowan is a founding member of Australian Women in
Agriculture Ltd, who recently celebrated 21 years of advocacy for
women in agriculture and rural communities, both in Australia
and internationally. Her research and consulting interests include
business and capacity building in the primary industry and water
sectors, women in agriculture, climate adaptation and risk
management. She is passionate about regional Australia and
committed to building vibrant and diverse regional communities
through democratic decision making and access to quality health
and education services.
Ms Donna Murray (CEO, Indigenous Allied Health Australia)
Donna is the Chief Executive Officer of the Indigenous Allied
Health Australia (IAHA), the national Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander allied health peak body. Donna is a descendant of the
Wiradjuri nation of the Murrumbidgee River and of the Wonnarua
nation of the Hunter Valley, NSW. Donna has worked in
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs for over 25 years
within government and community organisations at both state
and national levels and is currently undertaking a Masters of
Professional Studies in Indigenous Governance. Donna brings
extensive experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
leadership and governance, management, education and
community development to the role, and she has strong
relationships and networks within Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander health and related sectors. She is passionate about
strengthening and supporting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander allied health workforce and increasing the cultural
responsiveness of the wider health workforce through improved
access to allied health.
Ms Denele Crozier (EO, Women’s Health NSW) Denele is
currently the CEO of Women’s Health NSW – the peak body for
Community NGO Women’s Health Centres which provide
comprehensive primary health care with a gender analysis
designed to meet the needs of vulnerable women in NSW.
While starting her career in nursing and accounting Denele has
since built a 30 year track record working in women’s health
services and legal centres in the community. She has a
particular interest in implementing social justice health
interventions that empower women and girls in a safe and
healthy environment. She is currently on a variety of Boards and
Councils including the Australian Women’s Health Network,
NSW Council of Social Services, Reproductive Choice Australia,
Women’s Legal Services NSW and the NSW FGM Education
Program Advisory Committee.
Kieran Moore (CEO, Ogilvy Public Relations Australia)
Kieran is CEO of Ogilvy Public Relations Australia. She has
almost 30 years’ experience in PR covering public relations
strategy development and implementation, reputation and crisis
management and corporate positioning for business to business
and consumer focused companies both in the UK and Australia.
As Ogilvy PR Australia CEO, she is responsible for the specialist
businesses that fall within the Group: Howorth; Ogilvy Impact;
Pulse; Parker & Partners; and Ogilvy PR Health. Kieran is an
acknowledged expert in corporate thought leadership and issues
and crisis management. She is an active campaigner for gender
equality in the workplace and has been named one of The
Australian’s top 10 Women to Watch for two consecutive years.
Miriam Silva (Director, TAFE SA) Miriam has more than 20
years’ experience managing large and geographically diverse
teams across multiple industries including pharmaceuticals,
banking and agriculture. Miriam was most recently acting Chief
Executive of TAFE SA, prior to that Chief Operating Officer at
FleetPartners, GM Commercial Operations at Elders and various
roles at ANZ including spending 2 years in Hong Kong. Miriam is
a member of the TAFE SA Board, University of SA Council, SA
Film Corporation Board, Premier’s Council for Women (SA),
Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission, Islamic Museum
Board and Wilderness School Council. She volunteers with a
number of organisations including the Muslim Women’s
Association of SA Inc., International Women’s Day Committee
(SA) and Rotary International. Miriam is a member of the South
Australian Women’s Honour roll 2011, one of the inaugural 100
Women of Influence, winner of the Governor’s Multicultural
Award for the Private Sector 2012 and is the Multicultural Patron
for the SA Police Academy.
Appendix 2
Page 46 in the Weekend Advertiser
Page 11 in the Weekend Advertiser