On Friday 28 March, four of our Peer Support Leaders represented Sacred Heart College at the Be Bold Be Heard Conference at GMHBA Stadium, Geelong. The Be Bold Be Heard program is developed to empower, engage and inspire teen girls to enhance student voice, and helps to build student confidence.

The students, Ava Howie, Polly Milner, Selina Ortiz and Imani Sagnol, had the opportunity to network with students from other Respectful Relationships schools across Geelong, as well as listen to guest speakers who had inspirational and motivating stories and advice to impart.

Our student leaders gained much knowledge from their day at the conference, knowledge that we are sure they will in turn impart to their fellow students. Please see below a reflection of the day by the students.

On Friday 28th March, the four of us took part in the Be Bold Be Heard Conference with other schools from Geelong and West Melbourne. Throughout the day, we had the opportunity to interact with girls from other schools. We spent time playing bingo to practice networking, we sat at tables with different schools to compare the issues that each school had, and the solutions they had come up with.

During the day, we worked with one another to identify the issue we would like to resolve. To begin this process, we have started looking at data representing the MACSIS forms and reports. We are now brainstorming what we could change, how we could make the change, and where we would start.

Later on, we got to listen to a panel of guest speakers, which was comprised of Roxie Bennett (radio host), Michelle Clark (director of Department of Women) and Ilona Rose (Koorie Education Coordinator) who shared their experiences in male-dominated industries and the way they overcame gender-based challenges. It was so inspiring to hear about these changes making women in our community who are vital to leading a new generation of girls to believe in themselves.

It was so exciting to be part of this initiative, and we look forward to the conferences to come.

Selina Ortiz, Polly Milner, Ava Howie and Imani Sagnol