WA Women's community awards launched

The State Government's Women's Community Awards of five $5000 grants will assist female leaders to make their communities stronger, Women's Interests Minister Sue Ellery has announced.

The full text of a Ministerial announcement is pasted below

The launch of the Women's Community Awards will assist female leaders to make their communities stronger.

Women's Interests Minister Sue Ellery said the Office for Women's Policy had identified economic independence, gender equality, safety and justice, leadership and governance, and community participation as key priorities to enhance the status of women in Western Australia.

The Women's Community Awards would offer five financial grants of up to $5,000 each to individual women for projects relevant to at least one of the identified priority areas. The grants would enable the women to undertake work or research overseas, interstate or within WA and apply that knowledge in their own communities.

"The awards specifically target women who work in either a voluntary or paid capacity in the non-government community sector, where funding opportunities for this purpose are not otherwise available," Ms Ellery said

"We want to see the grants used for a wide range of research, projects and learning activities that achieve positive results and help address important priorities for women in the community.

"Importantly, we want to see this opportunity taken up by women from an array of backgrounds, including young and senior women, indigenous women, culturally and linguistically diverse women and women with disabilities."

Women aged 18 or over who have lived in WA for at least the last two years are eligible to apply for the community awards. Applicants need to show how their project or research would improve the status of women in the community, the workforce or at home.

Application packages can be obtained by contacting the Women's Information Service.

The closing date for applications is Friday, August 31, 2007.