Women from across the state have gathered in Sydney to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the NSW Rural Women’s Network and reflect on its achievements.
The state-wide initiative, led by the Department of Primary Industries, has been a voice for rural women over the past 25 years, with many more achievements to come.
In attendance at Parliament House were three of the initiative’s earliest champions: Audrey Hardman OAM, Margaret Carroll AM, and Fran Rowe.
The network sprung from a rural women’s conference in Parkes in 1991, and now boasts a strong history of learning, development and networking opportunities.
Conference participants were keen to build on that work, supporting the future of rural communities across NSW and providing more input to decision making.
“That’s exactly what the network has facilitated over the past 25 years, achieving some fantastic milestones not just for individual women, but rural communities as a whole,” Minister for Primary Industries, Niall Blair said.
“This includes facilitating 25 annual gatherings with more than 7500 participants, up-skilling more than 1000 women through 70 workshops and producing 64 editions of the network’s newsletter - just to name a few.”
Alex Druce
Politics and rural issues journo in Sydney. Give me a yell at adruce@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Politics and rural issues journo in Sydney. Give me a yell at adruce@fairfaxmedia.com.au
