‘The RIRDC Rural Women’s Award National Reunion Forum will bring together from across the nation a diverse group of women who have excelled in their fields and who share a commitment to rural Australia.

The Forum is the first ever national reunion of past recipients of the RIRDC Rural Women’s Award, and is a nationally significant gathering of rural women of enterprise and achievement. The Forum will be held in Canberra from 22-23 May.

The Forum will culminate with the Australian RIRDC Rural Women’s Award 2006 Dinner, where the first-ever Australian RIRDC Rural Women’s Award Winner will be announced at a celebration of the winners and runners-up of the RIRDC Rural Women’s Awards for each state and the Northern territory. Proudly presented by the Australian Women’s Weekly, the dinner will be held on the night of Tuesday-23rd May 2006 at the Hyatt Hotel, Canberra.

The RIRDC Rural Women’s Award was set up in 2000 to assist women to contribute to agriculture and rural Australia, providing them with the support and resources to develop their skills and abilities.

Now in its seventh year, the Award has benefited over one hundred women from every state and territory, representing every facet of rural industries. These outstanding women have gone on to make significant and lasting contributions to their industries and communities.

Western Australian Award 2000 Winner and Cambinata Yabbies founder Mary Nenke says the Award “…opened doors, raised my profile and has given me the opportunity to influence outcomes for our business, the industry, the region and beyond.”

NSW North Coast Dairy Farmer and Award 2000 NSW Finalist Sue McGinn says of the Award: “It raised my profile in the dairy industry, to the extent that I developed sufficient confidence to stand for election to the board of directors of the Dairy Farmers Cooperative in 2000. I became the first female board member in the cooperative’s 100 year history”

Gulf of Carpentaria fishermen and Award 2004 Queensland Winner Claudine Ward says:  ”The Award brought me a profile I probably never would have looked for previously, since I tend to organise and delegate rather than be the front person, no more shrinking violet now I am usually at the front of the pack.”

Vegetable grower and Award 2005 Western Australian Winner Maureen Dobra says: ”It has allowed me to be a voice for the vegetable industry in Western Australia and to promote rural Western Australia and what women can do, not just in agriculture but in any industry.”

Past recipients have used the Award and its bursary to forge new markets and relationships for primary products, including exporting salmon to Japan, olive oil into China, tropical fruit wine to Singapore and Taiwan, yabbies into the United States and wool and alpaca fibre into Europe.

Through the Award they have also achieved a number of firsts- the world’s first cultivation of marine tube worms for the recreational bait industry, the first national mohair classing training course and manual and the first best practice handling manual for the Australian tuna industry.

The Forum will be held on Monday-22nd May and Tuesday-23rd May 2006 at Rydges Capital Hill Canberra and will be officially opened by the Federal Minister for Transport and Regional Serves the Hon Warren Truss MP on the morning of Monday-22nd May at 8.00am.

A publication to be officially launched at the Dinner on Tuesday evening —  Winning Women – Just scratching the surface — provides an insight into the personal development and professional achievement of recipients of the first six years of the RIRDC Rural Women’s Award.

The Forum has been made possible thanks to the generous funding support from the Australian Government Department of Transport and Regional Services and the Office for Women.

The RIRDC Rural Women’s Award is an initiative of Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) in partnership with the State Government Departments of Agriculture and Primary Industries.

The Award 2006 three major sponsors are The Australian Women’s Weekly, Rural Press and ABC Radio-the original instigator of the ABC Radio Australian Rural Woman of the Year Award.
 
Media are invited to meet with recipients of the RIRDC Rural Women’s Award during the National Reunion Forum on Tuesday-23rd May at 12.30pm at Rydges Capital Hill, Canberra
 

ENDS
Media inquiries:
RIRDC Rural Women’s Award 2006 National Coordinator Edwina Clowes
Phone 0417 727 544 or clowesedwina@bigpond.com