Celebrate Her!

Stories of South Gippsland Women

Karli Duckett, Jenneke Kijlstra-Shone, Sarah Westwood & Karin Ruff

     

Excited to also have speaking in person are Sarah Westwood and Karin Ruff, the writers of Celebrate Her! and Michelle Gordon, the publisher (via zoom).

12 months in the making, Celebrate Her! Stories of South Gippsland Women has been inspired by the idea that the important contribution to our community by so many local women often remains unrecognised. We celebrate some of those women in South Gippsland for the diversity and richness of experience they bring to our lives through their initiative, their dedication, and their hard work. At this event hear from one of the creators, Karli Duckett who will be joined by Jenneke Kijlstra-Shone; one of the incredible women profiled for the project.

Karli Duckett

Karli describes her work as visual storytelling, using photography to connect with people and places across Gippsland. The opportunity to document the Great Southern Bale Trail for the South Gippsland Shire Council in 2021 was a re-entry into a lifelong passion for Karli and the starting point from which her small business has grown since. As a professional commercial photographer, no two days at the office ever look the same. One day can be spent capturing a herd of cows at a local farm, the next chasing athletes at sports events or quietly recording the work of an artist in the studio. Karli is deeply connected to community and has sought to ensure that everyone has access to professional photography, making this core value a real priority in her business. During 2022, Karli was engaged to create images for the Celebrate Her! Stories of South Gippsland Women project that was launched this year to coincide with International Women’s Day. Karli will be sharing her experience within the project, group learnings and hoping to inspire our community to continue to find ways to recognise the lives and stories of the women around us.  

www.karlimichellephotography.com.au

Jenneke Kijlstra-Shone

It was the smell and tactile quality of wood that drew a 35-year old mother of two into a carpentry apprenticeship four years ago. Now a certified carpenter and winner of the Master Builders Victorian Apprentice of the Year (Developing Leader Award) 2022, Jenneke is acutely aware of the stereotypes she is challenging as a woman in trade. Jenneke can only see positives though, “so much creative thinking exists in trades. Learning a trade teaches you many skills and the main one is problem solving. Jenneke would love to encourage more women to build confidence with tools, “women are just as capable as men. The difference is that men are presumed to know things whereas women are not”. Jenneke arrived in Australia as a seven year old with her Dutch parents and settled in north east Victoria. She studied permaculture and biodynamics after finishing secondary school and then enrolled in a Batchelor of Science at Melbourne University, majoring in botany and earth sciences. After graduating, she decided academic work in the sciences was not for her and began working for the Moreland Energy Foundation Ltd, one of Australia’s ground breaking community foundations that advocate for sustainable energy solutions. Jenneke will share how her journey has led her to Amber Creek sawmill.

Included in the price of your registatration will be a free copy of the book Celebrate Her! Stories of South Gippsland Women and the latest edition of Gippslandia.

You may also select a meal from 4 delicious choices. 

We invite both women and men to attend.