The Hope Brigade
Google Arts and Photo Exhibition
The WOW Foundation
‘The Hope Brigade’ is an exhibition created in celebration of WOW’s tenth anniversary, and in recognition of the 10-year countdown to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Around the world across 10 countries and regions, the exhibition tells a story of global feminism and women’s movements through the stories and voices of inspiring and game-changing women and girls.
10 women and girls were featured from each place around the world, and WOW Australia chose ten amazing changemakers from Australia. Each was photographed by the incredible Mana Salsali. Mana uses photography as a way of documenting the world around her and drawing attention to those special moments and connections between people in a group or family, enabling the character of each individual to be evident.
Read on to meet the Australian changemakers, or view the whole exhibition here on Google Arts & Culture.
Anisa Nandaula
Culture & Art
Anisa is a nationally recognised spoken word poet, play writer, educator, and published author with many accomplishments throughout her career journey. She is also a co-founder of the arts collective of Colour which creates a space for migrant, refugee and first nations artists to share their work.
“When we speak of culture it is the thread that strings our being to lands many of us can never return. It is a manifestation of those lost and those to come. To assimilate and erase this is a loss for all parties. A loss for the carrier and the stranger who could have shared in this gift.”
Anushka Dowling
Domestic Life
Anoushka has a passion for social justice, particularly the promotion of gender equality, the prevention of violence against women, racism, and discrimination. Being the Assistant Director of the MATE program and a facilitator of a Men’s Domestic Violence Education and Intervention Program is a dream come true that enables her to have those conversation.
“Ideas of equality, race, fairness, and justice start in the home. My life is dedicated to creating homes and communities that are safe, equal, and free from violence and discrimination. Being a cross-cultural adoptee, and a woman of colour, I am fiercely passionate about lessons learned in the home. I work, both personally and professionally, to ensure that we have a world where my children's worth and opportunities will not depend on their gender or their race. WoW teaches us that the celebration and liberation of women globally, starts with each of us. It reminds us that when we have safety and equity – women can thrive and flourish and when women thrive and flourish, the entire world will thrive and flourish.”
Debbie Kilroy
Peace & Justice
After her release from prison in 1992, Debbie Kilroy OAM established Sisters Inside to fight for the human rights of incarcerated women and girls, to address gaps in services available to them and their children. Since then, Debbie was awarded the Order of Australia in 2003 and the Australian Human Rights Award in 2004. In 2013 Debbie was awarded as the Churchill Fellow for the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust of Australia and in 2016 celebrated as the Australian of the Year Finalist (Qld).
“I have been in prison (many times) as both an adult and child. From hard experience I know that our legal system delivers punishment for poverty, not justice. It is driven by racism, not justice. It perpetuates violence, not peace. A truly just society is one where everyone has their basic rights met – no-one is hungry; no-one is homeless; and everyone is genuinely valued, regardless of background, wealth, or identity. We will only have peace and justice when everyone is given the opportunity to transform, rather than being reduced to the worst thing they have ever done. We will only have peace and justice when land is returned to the Traditional Custodians and money is reallocated from police and prisons to the community.”
Elise Stephenson
Education
Elise is curator of the Youth Entrepreneurs & Leaders Speaker Series, bringing Australian social change to global audiences across topics such as domestic violence, climate change and environmental sustainability, gender equality, LGBTI+ inclusion, and more. Elise is recognised as one of 25 ‘Young Women to Watch’ in international affairs, one of Boston Consulting Group’s ‘30 Under 30 LGBTI+ Role Models’ and was awarded a United Nations Australia Association award for her pioneering work in LGBTI+ domestic violence prevention.
“Education is multidimensional. It is learning from our parents and siblings, friends, and community. It is institutions and schools and universities. It is observation and it is practice. But in order for education to reach all women, men, girls, boys and non-binary folk everywhere, it must meet them where they are. Teach in language and in lore and in land. Communicate with communities on their level and in their time and walk beside them in the pursuit of their rights, interests, needs and future. WOW is that education community many of us have lost. It allows us to tap into our power of self-determination – it gives us the freedom to be you, and the freedom to be me.”
Dr Esther Onyango
Climate Change
Dr Esther Onyango is a Climate Change and Health Research Scientist at Griffith University. Through her work and activities, Esther aims to inspire and mentor women to increase their participation in STEMM careers and she has recently been named as an African Women at the frontiers of climate change research by the African Institute for Medical Sciences (AIMS).
“We must consider the systemic inequalities and socially constructed gender norms that increase women’s exposure to climate risks and reduce their agency to cope with and recover from the impacts of climate change. Understanding these differential impacts on women from climate change and human health risks is a key element of my work. Through the global platform of the WoW community, I have the opportunity and community to extend these learnings and messages to emphasise the importance of having women at the frontlines of climate change action – from the grassroots to national and international decision-making levels – to ensure that we have gender-responsive climate change adaptation policies and programming.”
Jackie Huggins
Leadership
Jackie Huggins is a Bidjara/Birri Gubba Juru woman from central and north Queensland which has first-hand, lived experience on the issues that affect the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders. She has devoted her life to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues to pursuit a better life for her people and has been involved in reconciliation, the Stolen Generations, education, arts, leadership, prison reform, domestic and family violence, health, housing, literacy, disability, human rights, women’s issues, and other social justice initiatives.
“Leadership is something all women have. We lead in our families, homes, communities, and workplaces just to name a few. You do not have to be in the public eye or the captain of the team to be a leader. It is inherent and our rightful position. In the past leadership has been predominantly that of men, but in my First Nations community in Australia, this situation is changing. We are witnessing the feminisation of Aboriginal leadership in our country. Our women are now CEOs, Chairs and Directors on Boards, barristers, lawyers, doctors, and other professionals leading the way. This is one of the many survivals and celebrations our women have endured despite the huge hurdles they have had to overcome. Long live all women.”
Leanne Kemp
Finance & Economics
Leanne Kemp is Founder and CEO of Everledger, Queensland Chief Entrepreneur and a prominent figure in the technology sector which has been recognised internationally. In 2018, she was appointed as Queensland Chief Entrepreneur in Australia, to develop the state’s start-up ecosystem, attract investment and support job creation. Leanne works on a global scale to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation and is an advocate of sustainability in business.
“We have all felt the effects of COVID-19: market volatility and fragility, sweeping societal, governmental, and financial framework changes. The crisis has rattled us all and created serious questions about the future of commerce. Critical to recovery and restoring economic activity is regaining trust in these systems. Consider a future where blockchain is integrated into commerce, altering the supply chain to fundamentally consider the provenance of items, and creating a more transparent experience for all parties along the chain. In this new chain incorporating not just supply but value, transparency is elevated into a competitive advantage. The result? A more resilient system better able to respond to disruptive shocks such as pandemics, wars, and climate changes— resiliency that benefits everyone.”
Dr Odette Best
Health
Dr Best has a long and distinguished career as a registered nurse, an academic and a historian of Aboriginal nurses and midwives. She explored the journey of six Aboriginal nurses across six decades. In 2012, she became the first Indigenous person to graduate from USQ with a Doctorate in Nursing and awarded the 2015 Tertiary Teaching and Learning Award from the Australian Educational Publishing Awards for her book Yatdjuligin: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nursing and Midwifery Care.
“In a year in which we should be celebrating International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, the paradox is that we are actually dealing with a global pandemic which has taken the lives of many people and many nurses. Nursing has been my life and I am proud of this profession never more so than now.”
Olivia Hardroeger
Identity
Born with Down syndrome, Olivia has never allowed intellectual impairment and years of gruelling surgery stand in her way. Told she would never speak, she uses the gift she was to be denied, advocating for change and equality. A disarmingly eloquent speaker, she addressed the UN in her quest to have Down syndrome recognised for both its’ physical and intellectual implications.
“I am more than the sum of my chromosomes. If you just look at my eyes you will not know who I am. If you look into my eyes, you may. Told I would never speak, I love to use the gift I was to be denied, advocating for others whose voice is quiet. WOW has shown that they see all people, by giving me a platform and valuing my contribution to the world. My campaign to have Down syndrome included in the Paralympics is gaining ground, with trial categories being introduced in some international sports competitions. I am now determined to promote greater diversity in casting for stage and screen. We all deserve to be seen and heard.”
Muna Ibad Jaber
Conflict
At the age of 13, Muna Ibad Jaber had to leave Syria due to severe danger in political conflict and arrived in Australia along with her mum and her brother as refugee. Becoming a refugee, witnessing such injustice, and being forced to leave her country at such an early age had completely changed her perspectives on the world, which shaped her dreams and beliefs which form her into the person she is today.
“At 13, my biggest worries should have been about an argument with a friend or an unpleasant meal. At 13, what I should not have been experiencing was a nation's conflict shaping my identity and impacting my years to come. Becoming a refugee at this young age redefined my childhood, forcing my eyes open to the hardships, the injustices and the immense losses that result from conflict. I lost members of my family, my friends, and my homeland. Yet this loss is not mine alone, but is a loss suffered by all refugees, who have lived and suffered the consequences of large-scale conflicts. Conflict is a reprehensible result that continues to arise in many parts of the world and within many homes. Therefore, the one and only focus should be on the creation of a suitable and just solution, a solution that suits all parties heading towards Justice and peace.”
Mana Salsali
Photographer
Mana Salsali was born in Tehran, Iran and immigrated to Australia in 2009. She worked as a mechanical engineer for 12 years both in Iran and Australia but her passion for photography led her to make a career change to a professional photographer in 2014. Mana's work has been exhibited at USQ Artworx Gallery, Gallery MC in New York and she had a solo exhibition called The Roots Project at BEMAC, Brisbane in 2016.
Mana uses photography as a way of documenting the world around her and drawing attention to those special moments and connections between people in a group or family, enabling the character of each individual to be evident. She is currently undertaking a Master in Visual Arts at Griffith University, specializing in photography.
