This July, the ANU Women’s Department attended the 2018 NOWSA conference, with help from funding from SEEF.

We travelled all the way to Newcastle on the Sunday to arrive in time for an exciting week of panels, workshops and keynote speeches.

Some highlights were a key note speech from Tilly Lawless, a panel about women in unions, a panel about decolonising tourism and rethinking refugees, a panel of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women, a speech from Lee Rhiannon, as well a dinner with all of our new friends from other universities.

ANU Women’s Department member Eleanor said, “It was an important opportunity to reflect on the intersectionality of my own feminism: to examine where and how I can be a better ally (but not to speak for minority groups).”

ANUSA Women’s Officer Laura Perkov, “It was an amazing opportunity to get to travel to Newcastle and spend time with Women’s Collective members who I hadn’t gotten to know previously. It was exciting to share my passions with women students from across the country in the workshops I ran.”

ANU Deputy Women’s Officer Juliette Baxter, “I really enjoyed getting to know students from other universities and learn about the advocacy taking place in other universities across the country. Participating in different workshops empowered me to want to get more involved at ANU.”

ANU Women’s Department member Issy, “For me, NOWSA was not just about formally learning and engaging with all the various intersections of feminism through the workshops and seminars, though they were brilliantly run and often really enlightening and empowering. Another incredibly important part of the conference was meeting passionate students from all around the country, as well as getting closer to other ANU Women’s Department members!”