VicUrban is the Victorian Government’s sustainable urban development agency committed to improving access to home ownership in Victoria.

Ownhome is a pilot initiative by VicUrban and builder Burbank Homes to assist moderate income Victorians to enter the property market. Visit the Ownhome website for further details on the initiative and information about the house and land packages on offer in metropolitan Melbourne.

My Inside Outside: Exhibition Coming Soon!

My Inside Outside exhibition presents works by young artists (aged 12 - 25) about their experiences living with mental illness.

Visit the Exhibition at 45 downstairs, 45 Flinders Ln, Melbourne, from 14 to 21 April.

For more details, contact Kate at: kate_m105@hotmail.com.au

YWCA - Changin' It, Lovin' It: Young Women's Conference

Are you a young woman (aged 18-30) and want to make a difference in the world? Join YWCA for the Changin' It, Lovin' It Conference, 13-14 April, and experience two days to change your world.

Download the Changin It Lovin It Conference Registration brochure (PDF) 244.17 kB.

Have a news item you would like to share with women's organisations and their networks? Submit it to us and we'll include it in the 'Pass It On' section of this monthly e-newsletter.

Email your items of 50 words or less to: office@qvwc.org.au by the third Friday of the month for inclusion in the following month's newsletter.

Queen Victoria Women's Centre was very pleased to see women from our past and present inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women 2007.

On International Women's Day, 8 March, Minister for Women's Affairs, Jacinta Allan MP, inducted ten founders of the Queen Victoria Hospital. 'These ten remarkable and visionary women join fellow Queen Victoria Hospital founders Dr Constance Stone (2001 inductee) and social worker Annette Bear-Crawford on the Victorian Honour Roll of Women'.

The founding women inducted were:

QVWC Trustee Barbara Jennings was inducted into the 2007 Victorian Women's Honour Roll.

Several of the founding women of the Queen Victoria Hospital. Photo courtesy: Monash Medical Centre Historical Archive, Southern Health.

QVWC was also very proud to have current Trustee Barbara Jennings inducted into the Honour Roll. Barbara was honoured for her work as 'an inspirational leader who has ignited and unified broad coalitions on behalf of major infrastructure projects involving the Royal Women's Hospital and the Queen Victoria Hospital'.

'It was clear that women wanted the building to be a women's centre, which could house organisations and be a credible, effective advocate for women's issues,' Barbara said about the campaign to save the Queen Victoria Hospital.

Congratulations to all the 2007 Honour Roll Inductees!

There are many events at the Centre for you to get involved in this month.

Check out our calendar of events for details.

Take advantage of our Autumn Special and save $300 when you hold your private function at the Centre before 30 June 2007.

The Atrium, Level 5, offers fantastic views of the CBD in a light-filled setting.

Have an important birthday coming up?

Looking for a special place to celebrate your anniversary?

The Atrium at Queen Victoria Women's Centre offers fantastic roof-top city views, a light-filled room, rooftop terrace and foyer. Plan your next private function for this very special CBD location.

Contact us today to take advantage of this special offer. Ask to speak with Larissa Staszko.

NB: The discount is available for private functions only, and functions must be held before 30 June 2007 to receive the $300 discount. Organisational or business related functions are not eligible for the discount.

Back by popular demand, QVWC and City of Melbourne - City Safety, present Fight Like a Girl - Women's Self Defence for International Students.

Fight Like a Girl Instructor Adori Bubble demonstrates one way of warding off would-be attackers. Mx, February 2007.

Join Australia's only certified, female Tactical Krav Maga instructor, Adori Bubble, as she teaches you basic self defence techniques like verbal distancing, using obstacles to protect yourself from an attacker and basic blocking. Adori will be joined by Victoria Police Crime Prevention Officer Melanie Apps to give international students helpful, basic tips about protecting your property from theft and who to call in an emergency.

If you are a female international student, contact us and register your interest to attend one of our free Fight Like a Girl Workshops.

These workshops are made possible with the support of City of Melbourne - City Safety.

Did you know that most photographs in glossy mags undergo up to 30 hours of digital retouching before being published? Are you aware that the impossibly long legs of many fashion models are just that...impossibly long because they have been digitially altered?

On 26 April, 32 year-11 girls from across Victoria will come to the Centre to learn how the digital retouching prevalent in today's media creates unrealistic and unattainable beauty ideals.

The Young Women, Media and the Digital Age Forum - presented by QVWC with the support of Office for Youth, Teenagers - Go for your Life Positive Body Image Strategy - aims to empower young women by providing them with a better understanding of vital body image issues and revealing the unrealistic beauty ideals most media present.

The Young Women, Body Image and the Digital Age Forum recently received coverage in the Herald-Sun as an important way of empowering young women.

Led by the FRANK Team, the forum participants will discuss body image issues with the Butterfly Foundation, learn about how to be peer educators and leaders and see first hand from a graphic designer how digital images are altered to create impossible beauty ideals. The girls will take the information they learn back to their schools, where they will present it to their peers in a creative format of their choosing. The girls will be aided in their presentations by in-school mentors, who will attend a workshop on body image and media literacy on 26 April.

QVWC believes that by demystifying the digital retouching that occurs behind-the-scenes of today's media, young women are empowered to make informed decisions about the media they consume and the beauty ideals in which they believe.

Take our Body Image, Media, and Digital Imaging Survey and go into the draw to win a $25 Angus and Robertson Gift Voucher (extended until 27 April).

Find out more about the Young Women, Body Image and the Digital Age project.

The Note to Herself Community Art Project struck a very personal chord with many women and we have received numerous requests to continue the project.

So, we're asking for your help! We're interested to hear from you, if you:

One thousand women visited the Note to Herself Gallery to engage with other women's secrets and contribute their own. Photo: Sara Bice.

• Are connected with a community group who has a space to exhibit Note to Herself (planning for a possible touring exhibition)

• Know a publisher who might be interested in Note to Herself as a book

• Would be willing to volunteer for further work on the project

• Can suggest funding sources which might support the continuation of the project

• Have other ideas about what we might do next.

At this time, we are in the exploratory phases of the next steps for Note to Herself, but your feedback and support makes us believe it's worth pursuing. . Let us know what you think by contacting us.

And, if you're watching, the online Gallery will be updated by the end of the month!

Over 1,000 women joined the organisations based at the Centre to participate in International Women's Day activities.

These included Women's Safety Seminars, a fundraising lunch for the Women Take Control Grant and the Note to Herself Community Art Project.

International Women's Day Fundraising Lunch - An Inspirational Story of Community Building

MC Tracy Bartram and guest speakers, Manar Chelebi and Sonya Davies (left to right) enjoyed interacting with the crowd at the International Women's Day Fundraising Lunch. Photo: Tara Moore, Moore Photography.

Mix 101.1 FM's Tracy Bartram MC'd the funny and inspiring IWD Fundraising Lunch with guest speakers Sonya Davies and Manar Chelebi. Sonya and Manar shared their personal story of friendship and community and encouraged women to 'test drive their views' by making contact with those members of the community with whom they might not otherwise interact.

Sonya and Manar met almost two years ago, after Sonya was prompted to contact the Islamic Council of Victoria, in an effort to introduce her 9-year-old daughter to Muslim women. The prompt came when, after hearing an academic on the John Fain show state that his study had found that most Australian children in grade 3 believed Muslims were terrorists. Infuriated that this was yet another sensationalist media report and believing the statement to be untrue, Sonya asked her daughter, 'What do you think of Muslims?' The reply stunned her: 'We have to be careful, Mum, they want to bomb us'. Sonya could not believe that her own daughter held this unfounded view. She felt her family was open-minded and culturally aware, but somehow, her daughter believed something else.

Sonya determined that she would not allow her daughter to be ignorant of the Muslim community, so she contacted the Islamic Council of Victoria and met Manar Chelebi, a devout Muslim, mother, social activist and enterprising consultant. Since their meeting, Sonya and Manar have formed a deep friendship and have established the 'Reach Out, Don't Retreat Project', which brings women together over lunch, on a woman-to-woman basis, for open discussion to bridge communities. The first lunch welcomed 250 women, and a second will be held this May, with the support of QVWC and City of Melbourne. Stay tuned for details.

An update on the establishment of the Women Taking Control Grant by QVWC, Victorian Women's Trust and WIRE - Women's Information will be available soon.

Note to Herself - Women Share Their Deepest Thoughts

Close to 1,200 women contributed postcards to the Note to Herself Exhibition. Photo: Tara Moore, Moore Photography.

Close to 1,200 women contributed their deepest secrets, thoughts and wants to the Note to Herself Community Art Project. Women's anonymous, postcard-sized artworks covered an amazing array of themes - from failed attempts to quit smoking to infidelity to the loss of a child - women opened up their hearts and artistically shared their secrets.

The Note to Herself Gallery, open for three weeks until 9 March, provided a serene space to look into other women's internal lives. The art installation framework, designed by architect Eugene Cheah of Eugene Cheah Architecture, created a flowing wall of 'viewing boxes' that held small groups of cards.

Women came together on International Women's Day to celebrate the exhibition they created. Visitors to the celebration were entertained by yummy jazz duo the Eclares, Comedian Nelly Thomas and MCs from Ladies Luv Hip Hop.

The International Women's Day celebration was a great chance to get together and share a laugh. Photo: Tara Moore, Moore Photography.

Comedian Nelly Thomas had the crowd doubled over with wicked laughter at the International Women's Day celebration. Photo: Tara Moore, Moore Photography.

One thousand people visited the Gallery, with many women inspired to make their own artwork on the spot in the 'Women's Art Space'. Gallery volunteers, many of whom also built the installation, welcomed visitors, helped women access art supplies, and made the exhibition possible.

Note to Herself was supported by City of Melbourne - Community Cultural Development Arts Grant program. Find out more about the project and the organisations involved. Or view the online Gallery.

Women's Safety Seminars

QVWC, with the support of City of Melbourne - City Safety Grants, hosted a series of seminars aimed at helping women to enjoy the city more safely.

The first of the seminars, Fight Like a Girl - Women's Self Defence, was extremely popular. Seventy-five women attended the two FLAG seminars, led by instructor Adori Bubble, Australia's only certified, female Tactical Krav Maga instructor. Adori's three-hour workshop introduced women to basic self-defence, including tactics such as verbal distancing and basic blocks. Fight Like a Girl was so popular, we will be offering two more workshops for international students in May and June this year. See the story below to find out more.

Victorian Women with a Disability Network (VWDN), Vision Australia and Travellers' Aid teamed up to present 'Accessing the City Safely'. The seminar provided helpful tips to improve city access and enjoyment for women with sensory or mobility impairment. VWDN Coordinator Tricia Malowney said, 'The seminar was really friendly and welcoming. As well as talking about planning to ensure their safe access to the City, women were able to ask questions about things such as accessing public transport and locating disabled toilet facilities. They also found out which city restaurants and bars are wheelchair accessible, which means they can take advantage of Melbourne's great food culture!'

At the seminar for International Students, Victoria Police Crime Prevetion Officer Melanie Apps gave women vital, basic safety information, such as knowing to dial 000 in case of emergency. Students also got a chance to ask questions about going out, what to expect at pubs and clubs and how best to get home after dark.

The five seminars, offered as part of International Women's Day Celebrations, provided women with important safety information in a friendly, welcoming environment.