Skip to content

Pride

I am thrilled to announce that for the second year in a row, Enlighten Education has been announced as a Finalist for the incredibly prestigious Australian Human Rights Awards in the Business category (winners announced at the ceremony which will be held in Sydney, December 10).

I thought I would take the opportunity to share a few sections from our application with you as I am incredibly proud of the work my team are doing to improve outcomes for girls and to promote and advance human rights and human rights principles in the Australian community.

Enlighten Education is based on the belief that by entering into, and engaging with, the world of teenage girls, adults can encourage meaningful and constructive conversations about gender, identity, education, careers and girls’ futures.

A core component of the company’s work is to increase awareness among girls, their parents, teachers and the wider community of issues of injustice and inequality in Australia, especially relating to girls and women. We also encourage greater harmony between people of different race, sex, sexuality, age and ethnic origin within Australia, because acceptance of diversity is central to our message.

Enlighten Education empowers girls and educates the community about girls’ rights to:

  • freedom from sexual objectification and harassment
  • freedom from the threat of violence, intimidation and bullying
  • fairness and equity in educational opportunities
  • fairness and equity in career opportunities
  • healthy body image and self-esteem
  • the end of social and cultural pressures that place young women at greater risk of anorexia and bulimia nervosa, depression and anxiety, substance abuse and self-harm than other sectors of the community

Enlighten Education works to protect and promote girls’ rights and empower girls to: stand up for freedom of identity and sexuality; have good self-esteem and body image; and make the most of educational and career opportunities—free of discrimination based on their gender or appearance, and free of restrictive, sexualising and objectifying messages from the media, advertising and other cultural influences.

Enlighten Education encourages girls to:

  • be critical thinkers, form their own conclusions, know their own minds and find their own voice
  • decode media, marketing, advertising and popular culture messages that impose limiting gender stereotypes or have inappropriate sexualising messages
  • develop healthy body image, self-esteem and confidence
  • combat bullying and intimidation, and resolve conflict
  • set personal boundaries, deal with sexual harassment, and use the internet and mobile phones safely
  • understand the history and current status of women’s rights
  • become aware of the environmental, ethical and social impacts of their consumer choices
  • get involved in charities and volunteer work to benefit the community
Me working with some Primary School girls.

The remainder of our Application discusses our media outreach work (which includes my work on Channel 9’s Mornings program as well as the various Opinion pieces I write for both blogs and national newspapers), our online presence ( platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, and the free Iphone App we launched), the social activism work we have been involved in, and the charity work we do (for both CanTeen and The Mirabel Foundation) to help ensure equity in service delivery.

I know from attending the Award Ceremony last year that we shall be amongst giants on the day; the stories shared in 2011 were so incredibly inspiring and moving.

We feel like winners already.

 

Published inSexual harassment and discriminationWomen and Careers

5 Comments

  1. Jane Higgins

    We are so winners! So are the gorgeous girls who share their worlds with us. Love what I do and who we are! xx Good luck to us! xx

  2. Rachel Hansen

    So PROUD to be a part of Enlighten Education! xx

  3. Francesca

    I feel overwhelmed with pride to know that our work has been recognised for such a prestigious and meaningful award. There are so many people out there doing amazing things to encourage fairness, equity and opportunity. So pleased to see the light shining on Enlighten Education.

  4. Wondering

    This looks great. Enlighten’s work is fabulous, although I don’t see anywhere were you actually acknowledge the members of ‘the team’. I only see the CEO’s work highlighted in the post. There are some other fabulous team members that I have witnessed working for Enlighten. Just wondering where they fit in this?

  5. Danni Miller

    Hi Belinda,

    Sorry I am unsure as to what may have confused but am happy to clarify. I absolutely acknowledge my team. The post begins: “I thought I would take the opportunity to share a few sections from our application with you as I am incredibly proud of the work my team are doing to improve outcomes for girls and to promote and advance human rights and human rights principles in the Australian community.” I then go on to elaborate on why our team do this work and on the impact it is having on young women. You’re right – Enlighten has amazing presenters who are doing an incredible job with young women! The body of this post (which discusses our core work in schools) does not refer to me at all.

    The support offered to our chosen charities is offered by all members of the team too, which again I acknowledge by the use of “we”.

    The media outreach work, and on-line work, however, is driven just by me.

    Hope that helps.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to toolbar