From this , we created WomenEmpower : fortnightly discussion-based workshops attended by inter-school participants and led by expert guest speakers . Topics have ranged from ‘ Using your voice to create change ’ to ‘ Navigating Uncertainty ’ and ‘ The role of diversity in fighting discrimination ’. Our speakers have included ( pictured ) Kate Shand , founder of a tutor agency , who has been named one of the BBC ’ s Top 100 Women ; investment lawyer Sebolelo Gebhardt ; Diwa Introzzi , COO of Style Incorporated ; and Katie Allen-East , of Women for Women International , which supports female survivors of war .
WomenEmpower
An initiative which hosts inter-school discussion workshops for Year 12 students , with guest speakers tackling topics surrounding women ’ s empowerment .
Our idea for WomenEmpower emerged from noticing how fragmented our local community is . Interactions between schools in the Sevenoaks area struck us as rare and often rather impersonal , with students from both parties feeling a bit awkward about sharing their views with each other . Another issue is the inequality in resources ; we wanted to provide more about tackling women ’ s empowerment , as well as to provide a comfortable environment for students to discuss their ideas .
Our initial idea was to host in-school sessions , but we have now adapted to hosting the sessions on Zoom , a platform that enables us to support a wider variety of students , many of whom feel more comfortable participating online . The first four sessions attracted over 90 students from 16 different schools .
We have used post-session surveys to measure our level of social impact . Some attendees have said that they have been inspired ‘ to do more for the causes I care about ’ and that ‘ it was inspiring to see girls from so many other schools coming together and voicing their opinions ’. This level of impact has encouraged us to continue developing our project in the hope of creating a national network of WomenEmpower sessions . We hope our workshop participants will feel significantly more inclined and able to voice and assert their views in personal , professional and educational environments . These interactions have truly inspired and taught us that bringing people from different backgrounds together is key to self-development .
Saniya Patel , Benedetta Radice Fossati , Agata Rigo Saitta , Lower Sixth
76 SERVICE AND SOCIAL IMPACT