International Women's Day 2023

This year Kilcooley Women’s Centre celebrated their annual International Women’s Day at the Old Market House, Bangor. International Women’s Day 2023 theme was  #EmbraceEquity . We embrace equity to forge harmony and unity, and to help drive success for all.

Opening the event, Tracy Harrison, Head of Children and Young People of Kilcooley Women’s Centre welcomed the women and thanked them for their support in highlighting the work which goes on across Ards North Down to support women and families throughout the year.  International Women’s Day creates the opportunity to promote opportunities available, organisations and projects which support the advancement of women either in terms of their health and wellbeing, employment and training opportunities or to build a more peaceful society.

Two inspirational women were invited to speak at the event.  Sarah Havlin, Local Government Boundaries Commissioner for NI , gave an overview of the importance of empowering women and women engaging in civic society.  Sarah explained who the inspirational women in her life have been, and how they have impacted in her career both in business and personally. Local Writer and Poet Emma Kervy shared an inspiring story and read out some poetry that she had composed.

The annual event also promotes the centre’s CURB initiative (connecting urban and rural better).  KWC and County Down Rural Network work closely together to build consortium projects, partnerships and sharing of expertise to enable women from all community backgrounds and settings to take advantage of support initiatives.

Transport was provided for  women travelling together from Portaferry, Portavogie and Ballywalter to the celebration the event.

This includes international engagement, where the women share their expertise across Europe. This year we were joined by our Erasmus+ We-Get Project with Partners Zooming in from Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Bulgaria and France.

Councillor Jennifer Gilmour brought the day to a close, highlight the work of all the empowering women involved.