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Girl To Woman Festival - A Huge Success

30/1/2015

14 Comments

 
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The inaugural Girl to Woman Festival, supported by Esoteric Women’s Health was celebrated by hundreds of attendees at the Lennox Head Cultural and Community Centre on Sunday 18th January. The invitation was open to the whole community to come together in celebration and support of girls and young women. 

“Don’t be afraid to be who you are”, was one of the messages year 12 student Layla said she would take away from the festival, as well as the importance of seeking support.

“If you are going through a rough time get support - speak out because no doubt a lot of other girls are going through it too,” said Layla.

One participant shared with the organisers:
"I really enjoyed how the kids got to participate as well as the adults... HAVE MORE :)"
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This event will be the first of a series of forums and programs that the Girl to Woman project will offer across the country. 

“Girls and young women face a lot of challenges growing up and our answer to address these issues is within our community. Our girls need to know they are cherished and celebrated for who they are and yesterday was a brilliant example of that. The community came together to take lead, get involved, understand our girls, support and celebrate them.” 
said Natalie Benhayon, Director of Esoteric Women’s Health. 

With music, market stalls, delicious food and a ‘true beauty tent’ for hair, skin and make-up to celebrate the beauty the girls already have on the inside – the day was an opportunity for the whole community to support girls and young women to feel how precious they truly are. 

Perfume making and the singing workshop was a hit as well as the young participants breaking out into a discussion group about the impact of media and social media in their lives. 
“Everyone had so much to share”, said one participant who was 13, “its like we only got started and there was heaps more to talk about”. 

The festival also explored issues that face girls and young women in today’s world. Everyone was given the opportunity to share their experience and the young people had a lot to share with one take home message being – “listen to us, we know what is going on”. 

“We were so pleased that the whole community was represented on the day - from Mums, Dads, Grandparents, Siblings, Uncles, Aunties and friends”, said Sara Harris, founder of the Girl to Woman Project. 

“With over 400 people attending, it confirms that the community cares about the well-being of girls and young women and want to come together to support them to step out into the world as who they truly are - not what media and society tells them they should be”, 
said Ms Harris. 

Reports from those who attended certainly confirmed the need for this festival and the importance of the purpose. One mother, Rachel said she came because she wanted to spend some time together with her daughter: 

 "to talk together and with others about issues that might be affecting her in the future - so that we can get on the same page and work together”.
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A variety of forums on the main stage lead to much discussion and sharing from the audience on topics including the impact of media, social media, bullying, peer pressure and relationships. Self-harm and body image forums were also held and to packed rooms for teenage girls and their parents.  

 “Listening to what girls and young women are telling us about what they feel and experience is the first step to supporting them towards making choices which love, honour and respect who they are on the inside”, Ms Benhayon said. 

“When we listen, it empowers the girls to say what they know and feel. It gives the message that we care, and we are there to support ”, Natalie went on to say. 

As well as having their own relaxation and pampering marquee, parents also had an opportunity to express their experience and concerns around the well-being of their children. 

I’m worried about the unrealistic expectations that girls have on them these days and just how difficult that is. My daughter has got a really good attitude about who she is and what she looks like right now, but in the future I really hope that she can hang onto a bit of that. That’s my big concern for her - is that she is going to start to doubt herself and her self-esteem might get effected because of unreal expectations. I want her to keep loving herself the way she is
”, said Rachel, mother of a 10 year old. 

There was a clear call from the community to hold more events like this so that we can build a foundation of true support in the community for girls and young women. 

Stay tuned to the Girl to Woman website (www.girltowoman.com.au) to view upcoming events. Sign up to the newsletter here. 

Esoteric Women’s Health will also be hosting another Community Event on March 21st, an open forum to discuss the community’s current issues in the area of Women’s Health, and to explore how we can collaborate together as a community to support women, their families, carers, and all our health professionals and public services as they experience illness and disease. See their website for details. 
14 Comments
Melinda Knights
21/1/2015 11:33:19 pm

Beautiful community initiative, great to have the chance to read about the festival here and what a success it was. In a world where kids are mostly "talked to" it was lovely to read that kids were encouraged to let others hear how they feel and what they know. I look forward to next years festival, and the possible expansion of the Girl to Woman Festival to other states of Australia as this is needed everywhere. Congratulations to all involved.

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Elizabeth Dolan
21/1/2015 11:40:02 pm

I had the absolute pleasure of being able to attend The Girl to Woman Festival. It was a truly beautiful day fully of activities for girls of all ages. The hair and make up tent was a huge hit with the girls. I watched them become transformed as they sat in the make up chairs, engaged with the women who were doing their make-up, relax into their bodies and took on a maturity that I had never witnessed before. This is because they were treated with the upmost respect and equality and so felt they could just be themselves.

I was so touched by the day because as an older woman I can see how much we need to support our young people. I work as a nurse and I am seeing more and more young girls ending up in hospital with eating disorders, self harming etc. Girls and young people in general are struggling and festivals like the Girl to Woman festival give girls the opportunity to see that there is true support out there in the community.

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steven leca
22/1/2015 06:35:29 am

Very inspiring to see the community come together to host the Girl to Women festival in Lennow head

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Kylie
22/1/2015 01:25:49 pm

G2W festival was a truly awesome my day my daughter enjoyed it so much she is asking when then next one is as she wants to go back. Thankyou very much to all involved in making the day such a great success and support of our young people.

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Shevon Simon
22/1/2015 11:34:24 pm

It's so encouraging to read of the huge turnout at this event and the genuine interest. As a middling age woman (age 36) I have been supported enormously by people who have seen and appreciated me just for who I am. This in turn has supported me to appreciate who I am, give validation to my feelings and grow in confidence. What a beautiful opportunity The Girl to Woman Festival provides girls and young women to be supported in the same way.

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Lee Green
23/1/2015 12:25:09 am

What an amazing event - so important for everyone that we truly share and support our girls to women - this event is a leading light, a beacon much needed in our present day.

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Donna Gianniotis
23/1/2015 12:57:26 am

Well done for hosting such an amazing event that offers young women the opportunity to truly in-joy themselves with music, beauty, presentations that isn't about 'bettering themselves'- but rather a celebration of the inner beauty that is already there within each and everyone of us. I look forward to more events like this.

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Carolien
23/1/2015 06:39:06 pm

My hat of to all those that made this event possible and such a succes from the get go. Girls and young women are facing a world that is asking them to be everything but themselves and there is very little support for them to love and appreciate themselves. This makes events like these so incredibly important and valuable. I can't wait for this to blow over to Europe and the rest of the world!

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Sally
23/1/2015 07:16:32 pm

I was unable to attend the festival but my 15 year old daughter went, and her grandparents pooped in to have a look also. She cried tears of joy when I spoke with her the next day as she loved being herself and being confirmed and honoured for who she is. There were tears of sadness as well because she recognised that she is not always herself and that it actually really hurts when you are not being yourself. In speaking with her I was struck by how grown up she felt and looked. She looked mature, womanly and was glowing. What an amazing intiative, thank you.

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Brianna
23/1/2015 09:00:59 pm

Last weekend I had an opportunity to attend this amazing festival and walked into the hall and somehow felt completely at home. All around me, I could see and feel so many beautiful woman of all different ages, backgrounds, shapes, sizes and expression. I loved all the variety and the joy of watching girls smiling, playing, exploring and get their nails pained and their make-up done in a way that did not act as a layer in identity, but was done in a way that so beautifully complimented their own expression and natural essence.
For me, the workshops and presentations were some of the most supportive conversations I have felt- and I can honestly say- I learnt more in a body awareness session for 45 mins then I feel I did in my entire school experience of health/sex education. Loved the honesty and openness of all throughout many of the discussions and walked away from the event with greater understandings, connections and appreciation of me. Thank you to all the Girl to Woman organisers and team that made this incredibly supportive festival so special.

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Kate Burns
23/1/2015 11:33:13 pm

Thank you so much to all the organizers - what an amazing day. As well as watching my daughter have a beautiful day celebrating her loveliness - the feel in the diverse crowd was absolutely heart warming.

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Suzanne Anderssen
24/1/2015 09:26:49 am

I took along my 7 year old daughter to the festival and we loved it. While she was a bit young to want to listen to the talks on stage, she was very keen to have her hair, makeup and nails done ;)
The beauty tent was so sweetly laid out, flowers, ribbons, creams, colours on all the tables, impossible to keep away from;) Everybody felt gentle and joyful, smiles all round. My daughter had a mini facial by Nicolette – her first ever – and just loved it. She loved how special the one on one attention was, Nicolette, along with all the beauty ladies, were completely 'in the moment' with their little clients.
There was a real attention to detail, and that made the whole room/tent/process so lovely to be a part of. It made my daughter feel like she was the most important person in the world that day, like she truly mattered.
This feeling that the girls were truly cared for by friends and strangers alike was what stood out for me; the girls attending the event were all of different ages, and it is difficult to cater for the different stages in life, but the G2W festival nailed it completely (purple painted nails that is) as each girl got to feel they were as special as each other. There also felt like a genuine respect for the different ages, older girls really wanting to take care for and look after the younger ones, share their wisdom, strangers making room for others, looking each other in the eye. I really felt that we all, adults and children, weren't really strangers at all, just people who didn't know one another given circumstance, and when given half a chance, would be best of friends in 5 minutes.
I love that my daughter has an imprint of what it looks and feels like to truly celebrate herself as she grows into a teenager and begins to experiment with how she looks. What she will see in the mirror will be what she feels like on the inside, sparkles and all. G2W, we will be back!

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mary holmes
25/1/2015 12:02:52 am

It has been wonderful reading the information blog of The Girl to Women Festival. What a grand experience for them all to experience, especially in this day an age when so much pressure is put on young girls in our society to be not true to themselves. I would have loved to have attended such a festival in my teenage years, what a difference it could have made to my life.

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Martin Gladman
27/1/2015 12:12:46 am

The role that we play as a community in supporting our young people as they face the challenges of growing up is immense. Our young people are not raised by just one or two people, they are raised by many, be it through school, the media, work, friends, other families and more. The Girl to Women’s Festival offers a fine example of how we bring awareness to the responsibilities that we each hold, starting the conversation whilst also offering the space for our young women to be honoured, cherished, supported and celebrated for the beautiful and unique people that they are.

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