Voices Shaping the Future
19-20 October 2023
Voices Shaping the Future
Voices Shaping the Future is a two‑day celebration of conversations, performances, and workshops by and for young women and those interested in their views on gender inequality and intersecting injustices in the world today. The program will incorporate a National Youth Summit of 100 young women organised by Julia Gillard’s Global Institute for Women's Leadership (GIWL), a public Conversation Series based on the issues young women want to discuss, and a Schools Day event hosting over 200 Queensland school girls and featuring young women who are changing lives with their big ideas, practical workshops and the much‑loved WOW speed mentoring on the Wheel of Brisbane!
The program will wrap up with award winning concert Spinifex Gum featuring Marliya, where the voices of young First Nations women from Gondwana choirs combine with the poetic yet compelling lyrics of The Cat Empire’s Felix Riebl and choreography by Deborah Brown, promising a performance that will live with you long after the final note has been sung.
Voices Shaping the Future is presented by QPAC and WOW - Women of the World Australia, with contributions from the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership and the Australian Human Rights Commission and celebrates the UN International Day of the Girl Child which falls on 11 October 2023.
Download a copy of the Program
Tickets
Conversations Series - $25 per event
Schools Day - $25 per day
Spinifex Gum featuring Marliya - $59 - $69
All plus booking fees. Tickets purchased separately through QPAC.
Conversation Series
Blow the Whistle
Fri 20 Oct 2023, 4pm | Cremorne Theatre
With the FIFA World Cup behind us and the 2032 Brisbane Olympics on the horizon, let’s sit down for a conversation about gender equality in the sporting world as a lens for exploring gender inequities in Australia today with a panel of young sports stars and behind the scenes professionals.
Just how far have we really come and what mountains are left to climb? We’ll explore all the issues, from the gender pay gap to trans rights, media treatment to access to facilities and training, and everything in between.
Speakers: Prof Simone Fullagar (F), Dr Georgia Munro-Cook, Alexandra Williamson and Courtney Fewquandie
Performance: Unbreakable Dance Crew
The F-Word - Are We There Yet?
Fri 20 Oct 2023, 5:30pm | Cremorne Theatre
Labels are a problem.
They divide and confuse as much as they unite, and the term feminist is a great example. For some it’s out of date, for some they feel excluded by its focus, and for others that it’s too aggressive.
But what have we learned from these discussions? What work do we still have to do to achieve gender equality for all? And how do we do that in ways that unite and strengthen us all, whatever our story and starting point?
Speakers: Natasha Mitchell (F), June Oscar AO, Professor Michelle Ryan, Semara Jose, Ananya Kundu and Grace Sarra
Performance: Mariah & Saraima
The Changemakers, Taking the Lead
Thu 19 Oct 2023, 7pm | Cremorne Theatre
Traditionally, we have thought of leaders as people in position of power and influence – statesmen, high professional achievers, business leaders, team captains.
What we sometimes overlook is that there are leaders all around us in our everyday lives – people whose lives are an example of advocacy and service, people who stand up or speak up for a principle when it really counts, people who risk disapproval, people who put time and effort into a campaign for change just because it’s the right thing to do.
Speakers: Susan Harris-Rimmer (F), Chanel Contos, Matika Little, Samara Fernandez Brown, Mary Harm and Jerusha Mather
Performance: Huda The Goddess
Boys Will Be Boys
Thu 19 Oct 2023, 5pm | Cremorne Theatre
When we call out the inappropriate behaviours of boys and young men, we still hear the refrain ‘ah well, boys will be boys’ – in schools, in the workplace and at home. And with younger and younger boys being drawn to harmful social media influencers, this issue is becoming increasingly urgent.
This panel will unpack these issues around toxic masculinities, incel culture and male mental health and share solutions to move away from the norm of ‘boys will be boys’ and promote healthy models of masculinity for young men.
Speakers: Jonty Bush MP (F), Matt Brown, Aaron Fa’aoso, David John and Dean Cooper
Performance: Aniita, from House of Alexander
Voices Shaping the Future
– Schools Day
Voices Shaping the Future – Schools Day is aligned with UN International Day of The Girl Child, designated in 2012 to highlight and address the many challenges girls face globally, and to promote girls’ empowerment and human rights. This year WOW – Women of the World Australia will continue to partner with QPAC to host over 200 high school students in a full day of workshops, performances, and speed mentoring on the Wheel of Brisbane with over 100 mentors from a range of diverse fields, highlighting opportunities and inspiring diverse ambitions.
A special feature of the program will be a panel conversation hosted by ABC’s Big Ideas Natasha Mitchell.
This event is part of the Voices Shaping the Future series.
Schools Day Program
Conversation: WOW Big Ideas – Natasha Mitchell and ABC Radio National
At some point we all have big ideas on how we would like to change what is wrong with the world, or how we might create a community organisation or business to meet the needs of ourselves and our friends.
But how many of us get a chance to put those ideas into practice – what does it take, what skills do we need, and what lessons will we learn along the way? Meet some of the most dynamic young leaders and changemakers in Australia today.
Workshop: Money Queens
An interactive finance workshop with everything you need to know about money before you leave high school.
Michelle Bowers, author of Money Queens, will guide you through topics such as influences and attitudes towards money, impact of gender on finances, including the gender pay gap, and retirement and financial abuse.
Workshop: Bring a Plate – Inclusive Dance Workshop
Bring A Plate are an inclusive dance company that has been bringing people together, celebrating diversity and creating safe spaces since 2017. Founded by Erika Jayne Goldsmith and Zoe Mitchell, they will lead participants through a dynamic inclusive dance workshop for all abilities and bodies!
Workshop: True by Consent
True by Consent is a 60‑minute interactive workshop facilitated by True Relationships and Reproductive Health exploring how young people can navigate sexual relationships, how they can make healthy choices, where they can obtain reliable health information and how to access services and stay safe while partying.
Spinifex Gum featuring Marliya
Celebrate the passion and talent of our youth with Spinifex Gum.
Spinifex Gum combines the beauty of a choir of young Indigenous female singers from Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait with contemporary songwriting that speaks to issues of our time.
Disarming and uplifting audiences across Australia, Spinifex Gum brings together the sound of the Marliya choir led by Lyn Williams AM, with the music of Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill (The Cat Empire) and choreography by Deborah Brown.
In this breathtaking concert, their unique blend of choral music and contemporary song combine with dance in a performance like you’ve never seen before.
Commissioned to write a song cycle for the choir, Felix Riebl spent several years visiting the Pilbara to build relationships and gather stories. He and co-creator Ollie McGill went on to write the album Spinifex Gum about the region’s local tales and characters, true stories of racism and injustice, and the legacies of colonisation with music production that’s staunchly modern, built from found sound samples of the Pilbara – rustling leaves, bouncing basketballs and chugging trains.
Marliya’s lush choral vocals are performed with exuberant energy, blended with hard-hitting urban rhythms and uncompromising lyrics for a fresh sound that is built from the ancient culture of the Pilbara but is totally the music of today.
High energy, high impact, and hauntingly beautiful, this fearless music lays bare the injustices faced by Indigenous Australians and shines a light on the strength of those who fight for their community.
Nominated for Best New Australian Work at the 2019 Helpmann Awards®, it has the power to disarm, inspire, and speak to us in a way that no individual voice can.
You’ll leave this gig feeling inspired and hopeful for the future.
GIWL Youth Summit
There is so much disconnect between the experiences of young people and the policies that are made that will dictate their lives. We're on a mission to bridge this gap.
The Global Institute for Women’s Leadership (GIWL) are hosting an interactive 1.5-day forum to create a platform for passionate young people aged 18 - 30 to share the most pressing gender-based issues facing this generation.
The Summit will be led by trailblazing activist, Chanel Contos and will be attended and facilitated by inspirational young people from across Australia, including youth activists, industry experts and the next generation of leaders from a range of sectors – from arts and culture to science and tech. It will consist of a mixture of interactive workshops, expert-led facilitated discussions, panel events and networking and career development opportunities.
Speakers & presenters
