The 8th annual International Women’s Day Breakfast took place at Abbey Park High School on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Students, staff and community members gathered together for a morning of important conversations about empowering women.
The annual breakfast is organized by the Young Women in Leadership Group at Abbey Park High School. The student group meets weekly to discuss trending topics in the media that have the greatest impact on women. By engaging in this dialogue the group strives to empower girls at their school as well as younger students in the nearby elementary feeder schools.
With this year’s International Women’s Day theme being “Balance for Better”, those attending the breakfast had the opportunity to write on sticky notes how they plan to forge a more gender-balanced world. It wasn’t long until colours of sticky notes filled a white banner hung on the wall surrounding the words #BalanceforBetter.
Keynote speaker and Oakville entrepreneur Julia Hanna had the following message for young girls: follow your instincts, stay true to yourself, and lead by knowing that you are going to get to where you want to be. Hanna opened her own restaurant at the age of 26 in Downtown Oakville and is the creator of HealthyFam, a program dedicated to helping families, children and seniors with healthy living.
Abbey Park High School students Hilary Marshall and Jenny Schwichtenberg led the organization of the breakfast with the help of teachers Sheila Gabura and Kim Wilson and the rest of the Young Women in Leadership Group.
Listen to what Hilary, and fellow students Onjoli Krywiak and Panteha Jamshidian love most about the event
here.