VOICES for Change 3

VOICES for Change 3: Tiddas Day Event

The V.O.I.C.E.S for Change #3 project worked alongside young Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women and community members to develop age appropriate and culturally relevant digital and print resources for the prevention of violence.

Zig Zag’s Sexual Assault and Housing Support teams collaborated with Sister’s Inside to deliver the project outcomes with funding provided by the Myer Community Fund.

Project planning for V.O.I.C.E.S needed to remain nimble due to the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020.  The pandemic has definitely highlighted Zig Zag’s ability to be flexible and creative in still delivering great outcomes for young women and the communities they belong to, despite the challenges of lockdowns and physical distancing restrictions.  Through consultations with First Nations community members, young women and the wonderful women at Sister’s Inside, the V.O.I.C.E.S project grew and developed to centre around a vibrant and fun community event that offered young women and their families an opportunity to get pampered and “decolonise and moisturise”!

This idea was hatched through conversations between Zig Zag and Sisters Inside founder and CEO Debbie Kilroy OAM and Youth Program Manager Neta-Rie Mabo and became a partnered event to celebrate young Tiddas focusing on their strength, resilience and shared wisdom.  This resulted in the creation of Tiddas Pamper Day which was held at Jagera Hall in South Brisbane and offered a full day of activities designed to pamper and nurture, reminding young women that they ALL deserve some time out to be pampered and feel good!  The nurturing and fun environment created at this event, also allowed young women to feel safe and empowered to share some of their stories and experiences of violence and work alongside the ‘Digital Storytellers’ who were a featured activity on the day.  This has resulted in the completion of a series of posters and video content by young women for young women where we see the strength of women ‘speaking up’, sharing their wisdom and in turn supporting other young women in the community to do the same.

Tiddas Pamper Day was only made possible by collaborating with some amazing people in the community.  Sister’s Inside, Digital Storytellers, Yarraka Bayles (as initial cultural facilitator) and a number of First Nations business providers including Murri Menu and the awesome DJ music of “Hot Brown Honey” founders, Lisa Fa-alafi and Kim ‘Busty Beatz’ Bowers, all came together to show young women how much they are valued and to support the event.

Approximately 100 people attended; 60 of these were young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, including 23 young women from the Hymba Yumba Independent School.  Activities on the day included – massage, a range of beauty treatments (e.g. brow sculpting, nails and hair braiding), succulent planting, river stone painting and lots of yummy food catered by Murri Menu.  It also provided an opportunity for young women to access community services and to showcase some First Nations small businesses.  Zig Zag aims to see Tiddas Pamper Day become an annual event.

Feedback from young women and First Nation’s community was very positive and many expressed interest for further involvement next year. The Digital Storytellers expressed that the event had allowed them to effectively engage young First Nations’ women and to collect rich footage and powerful stories.  All services and small businesses involved benefited from the valuable connections made with each other through both planning and running the Tiddas Day event.

We would like to acknowledge the courage shown by these young women in speaking up and speaking out on sexual and family violence.

The digital and print resources will be easily accessed through our website or please contact us directly to discuss further distribution needs. Zig Zag will further promote and distribute this essential peer resource within our community education and violence prevention activities undertaken throughout the year.