Women making the world better

Urbanistas Cardiff and Women Making a Difference will team up to present an evening of quick-fire talks on 8 December.

Taking place at the Cardiff Story Museum, the Social Action Lightning Talks event will highlight female-led projects making a difference to local communities.

Women Making a Difference offers training courses free of charge and open to all women in Wales.

Presenters will get just 20 images and 400 seconds to showcase their visual story.

This ‘lightning talk’ format is meant to be a challenging but fun way to improve public speaking skills within a safe space says Joni Alexander, director of Women Making a Difference. “There’s clearly demand from women to improve their public speaking,” she adds.

Find out about upcoming free courses

Another key reason for the event is its partnership with British Council’s Active Citizens programme.

“We’ll have five international visitors at the event eager to learn about Welsh community based projects and campaigns,” explains Joni. “This is a great way of showcasing the work and hopefully inspires a few people too.”

The Equality Human Rights Commission report shows that more women held positions of power and influence in 2004 compared to 2014

For the full report visit Equality Human Rights

Q&A with director Joni Alexander

What is Women Making a Difference?
It began in 2005 as a project within the Women’s Institute in Wales. Most of its work revolved around training women to develop the skills, ability and mind set to become leaders in their communities and public life. Unlike other organisations, its partnership approach has allowed it to effectively reach black, minority and ethnic females and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In September 2014, Women Making a Difference became a charity in its own right. With a donation of reserves from the Women’s Institute, as well as a three-year Welsh Government Grant, the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) Foundation was established.

Why the collaboration with Urbanistas Cardiff?
Urbanistas Cardiff is a network extending women’s leadership in the community. The partnership came about when a friend pointed me towards the group. What they stand for is exactly what our organisation is about, and certainly embodies the ethos of British Council’s Active Citizens programme.

How to get tickets or become a speaker?
You can get in touch until 24 November with Jo Carter (jo@satorilab.org) or me (joni@wmad.org.uk) to pitch your talk. Once we have a final number we will determine how they are selected. Tickets for the evening start at £5. Visit Eventbrite for more details.

Training programme success stories

Dawn Manney

Cardiff born Dr Dawn Manney came from a Welsh Valley’s town and left school with a few GCSEs. Living in relative poverty on a marginalised housing estate, she was a mother of two by the age of 21. However today, Manney is a university lecturer with a First Class Honours BA, a Masters and PhD in Social Sciences.

Manney says, “All women need to develop their self-confidence and sense of pride and not allow other people to put them down. This can be achieved through formal education or through groups like Women Making a Difference.”

Babin Molik

Babin Molik is a graduate of Cardiff University with a PhD in Biosciences. She found the confidence to get involved in her local community, especially politics, with the support of Women Making a Difference.

“Being a minority Bangladeshi girl, there were plenty of barriers that I had to overcome to reach the level of education that I have achieved,” says Molik. “I don’t know what it was about the course, but I felt comfortable discussing issues with other women.”

Image credit: Women Making a Difference