Blog: Great Ydeas

Blood, Sweat and Fears: Why I Travelled to Peru, and What It Taught Me
10 August 2015

One of the great secrets to not being disappointed with something is to have no expectations. I can’t say I ever dreamed of visiting Peru, or that Machu Picchu was on my bucket list; the South American continent has always been somewhere I hadn’t thought to visit. If you had told 17-year-old Rosie that in […]

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Kate Lundy inspires at Round The World Breakfast
7 May 2015

On Tuesday 21 April, we were excited to host our annual Round the World Breakfast to celebrate World YWCA Day, at The Lobby Restaurant in Parkes. World YWCA Day is recognised every year across 120 countries. The Round the World Breakfast provides an opportunity for YWCAs to come together to honour the contributions of women […]

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Working For Purpose
20 March 2015

The following is an abridged version of a speech given by Caterina to the Women in Information and Communication Breakfast Series in Canberra last week. I have to start by letting you all know that I’m not presenting to you on my own today. I am actually joined by ‘Blue’ who is all of 20-and-a-half-weeks […]

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2014: a year to remember
17 December 2014

I would like to thank and acknowledge the enthusiasm, support and dedication of my colleagues, and the work of our 300 staff. Our organisation is not only a significant employer in the Territory, but also a contributor to the economic, cultural and social wellbeing of our community. Our 2013-2014 Annual Report highlights the many achievements […]

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Country to Canberra winners

Country to Canberra – what young rural women think of gender equality
9 December 2014

Great Ydeas grant recipient, Hannah Wandel, launched her Country to Canberra project earlier this year, to great success. Last week, the winners of the Country to Canberra essay competition came to Canberra to meet distinguished women leaders, and take a special tour of Parliament House. We’ll be sharing more details of that exciting event soon, […]

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Femme Hive Conference a Great Ydea
26 November 2014

  In April this year I was fortunate to receive a Great Ydeas grant from YWCA Canberra, to attend a conference on queer femme identity – the Femme Hive Conference in Berlin. I am currently undertaking a PhD at the Australian National University with a focus on femme subculture, and the conference provided me with […]

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Caitlin Sandercock - DAWN

Supporting those who make a difference – DAWN
23 October 2014

As part of this year’s Changemakers Festival, we’re hosting a special panel on Thursday 23 October featuring three of our Great Ydeas grant recipients for 2014, Women leading change: small grants, big impact.  Here, panelist and grant recipient Caitlin Sandercock writes about the process of creating the Development and Aid Workers Network, which seeks to provide information, support and advice […]

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Heidi Zajac - Cooking Circles - Dili

Creating change through Cooking Circles in Timor-Leste
20 October 2014

As part of this year’s Changemakers Festival, we’re hosting a special panel on Thursday 23 October featuring three of our Great Ydeas grant recipients for 2014, Women leading change: small grants, big impact. Here, panelist and grant recipient Heidi Zajac writes about her recent trip to Timor-Leste as part of her Cooking Circles project, which aims to connect Australian and Timorese […]

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Hannah Wandel - Country to Canberra

Country to Canberra celebrates rural women
15 October 2014

October 15 is the International Day of Rural Women – a time for us to acknowledge the incredible contribution of women living and working in rural and regional communities to our society. Hannah Wandel is passionate about providing access for rural girls to leadership opportunities and mentors. She recieved a YWCA Canberra Great Ydeas grant […]

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Caterina Giorgi

It’s time to focus on professionals working in the ‘for purpose’ sector
14 October 2014

As part of this year’s Changemakers Festival, we’re hosting a special panel on Thursday 23 October featuring three of our Great Ydeas grant recipients for 2014, Women leading change: small grants, big impact. Here, panelist and grant recipient Caterina Giorgi writes about her project, For Purpose, which aims to that will develop and implement tailored professional development training to support women working […]

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