Coming to Cairns for the first time!
WOW Schools Day is a full-day experience bringing together Years 10 & 11 students from across Cairns and Far North Queensland for a WOW Schools Day is part of the global WOW - Women of the World movement, aligning with the UN International Day of the Girl. The event is designed to inspire, empower and equip young people - particularly girls and gender-diverse students - to explore leadership, confidence, equality and their role in shaping the future. For the first time WOW Schools Day is happening in the regions!
WOW Schools Day is a full-day experience bringing together Years 10 & 11 female and non-binary students from across Cairns and Far North Queensland for a dynamic program of:
Interactive workshops:
Being A Good Bystander
Money Moves
Live performances and creative storytelling
Speed Mentoring with women from a range of sectors and life experiences
Inspiring speakers and young change-makers
The day creates a powerful shared experience that encourages students to think critically, build self-belief, and connect with real-world opportunities and role models.
Listen to last year's panel conversation hosted by ABC's Natasha Mitchell HERE.
Cost: $29pp + ticketing charges
Speakers
Destiny Dewis
Destiny Dewis is a proud Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and South Sea Islander woman with over fifteen years of experience working with First Nations communities. Asa business owner specialising in First Nations consulting and facilitation, she is passionate about strengthening financial literacy and supporting economic empowerment for First Nations families and communities. Destiny focuses on creating practical, culturally relevant education programs that respond to community needs. Her work is guided by a commitment to helping communities grow stronger and achieve long-term wellbeing and prosperity.
Jessica Gihozo Mupenzi
Jessica Gihozo Mupenzi is a poet and emerging writer. She writes at the intersection of science and story, exploring how identity, migration, and belonging mirror paradoxes of the natural world.
Her work blends the rational and the emotional, the seen and unseen, searching for meaning between the lines and between the states. She is inspired by her lived experience and aspires to use her love for science and storytelling to build bridges between understanding and empathy.
Jessica was a 2025 Young Writers Fellow with Engaging Science QLD and SWN.
Claudia Kurowski
Claudia Kurowski is a young leader from Cairns in regional Queensland, driven by a passion for public service, youth advocacy and creating meaningful opportunities for others. She is committed to ensuring young people—particularly young women and girls—have a genuine voice in the decisions that shape their futures, while breaking down barriers to leadership, politics and traditionally underrepresented spaces.
Believing that leadership is measured by service rather than titles, Claudia has dedicated much of her time to advocating for equity, strengthening youth representation and building stronger communities.
She currently serves as the Youth Mayor of Cairns and was recognised as the 2026 Cairns Young Citizen of the Year and the 2025 Cairns Young Woman of the Year for her contribution to civic leadership and community service.
Professor Henrietta Marrie AM
Professor Henrietta Marrie (née Fourmile) (born 1954) is an Honorary Professor with the Australian Research Council. She is an Aboriginal Australian from the Yidinji tribe, directly descended from Ye-i-nie, an Aboriginal leader in the Cairns region. She was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2018 for her service to Indigenous rights, education, and cultural heritage
Professor Henrietta Marrie is an advocate for the rights of her own Gimuy Walubarra Yidinji families, as well as for the cultural rights of indigenous peoples nationally and internationally and has been involved in extensive research in the areas of Aboriginal cultural heritage and museums, the politics of Aboriginal heritage and the arts and recently the area of Aborigines and cultural tourism.
Professor Henrietta Marrie was a senior fellow at the United Nations University and an Adjunct Associate Professor with the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining at the University of Queensland. In 2018, Professor Henrietta Marrie was named as one of the Queensland Greats by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
Natasha Mitchell
Natasha Mitchell is the host of the ABC's popular Big Ideas program and podcast.
She is a multi-award winning ABC journalist, radio presenter, podcaster and documentary maker. Natasha founded the internationally popular radio show and one of the ABC's first podcasts, All in the Mind, which she hosted and produced for a decade.
Natasha's audio journalism has received accolades internationally, including the overall Grand Prize and four Gold World Medals at the New York Radio Festivals, four Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Broadcast Media Awards, the Yooralla Broadcast Media Award, the Public Health Association of Australia Media Award, the Australasian Association of Philosophy Media Professionals' Award, amongst other awards. She was finalist for two Human Rights Awards and in the Eureka Prizes.
Shennae Neal
Proudly walking in the footsteps of her ancestors, Shennae is a powerhouse community leader, business owner, and cultural connector grounded in the rich lineages of Yidinji and Djabugay (through her mother) and Kuku Djungan and Gunggandji Gurubana from Yarrabah (through her father). Her life’s work reflects a deep dedication to service, community empowerment, and cultural integrity.
With over a decade of frontline experience at Services Australia, Shennae has consistently centred her community in everything she does—whether it’s coordinating care for families or building new pathways for economic and cultural self-determination.
Currently serving as a Senior Care Coordinator at YETI Youth, Shennae is a steady presence and role model for many, supporting young people through culturally safe, trauma-informed, and empowering practices.
Mandy Nolan
Mandy Nolan is a force of nature. She's not just a comedian; she's an author, journalist, activist, educator, humour therapist, a mum of 5, and a bloody good sort – truly "never just one thing!" From pioneering the Byron Bay comedy scene and teaching Hannah Gadsby, to her acclaimed national show 'Women Like Us' and innovative 'Stand UP for Dementia' therapy, Mandy uses her wit to spark change and challenge the status quo. She's a passionate voice for the unheard, a "trouble maker" who reframes it as a "change maker," ready to use a joke or a vote to drive progress.