2008 marks 100 years since Australian women obtained the right to vote.

The Office of Women's Policy will soon open a Grants Program to support the celebration of next year's Centenary of Women's Suffrage.

The Centenary of Women’s Suffrage in 2008 provides Victorian women with an opportunity to celebrate their equal participation in political and community life.
The occasion will be marked by a series of events and initiatives including development of school curriculum materials and digital stories and public lectures.
The different initiatives will involve Victorian women from all walks of life, including young, Indigenous and CALD women, as well as those living in local communities in rural and regional Victoria. Celebrations will also highlight the cultural and political significance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women not being able to vote in Victoria until the 1960s.

To find out more, visit the OWP website.

There are many events and activities for you to get involved throughout October.

Volunteer and support the international campaign to end violence against women - 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.

No To Violence/Men's Referral Service Manager Danny Blay speaks at the White Ribbon Day campaign launch at QVWC 2006.

This year, we'll be supporting the Sleepsafe Breakfast with Project 5.0, selling White Ribbons and helping organise public awareness raising campaigns to help people better understand the prevalence and impact of domestic/family violence in our community.

QVWC is seeking volunteers to help out with the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign (25 November to 10 December).

There are several ways you can help out.

Email us at: office@qvwc.org.au to find out more. Please put '16 Days Volunteering' in the subject line.

Join QVWC and Project 5.0 for the SleepSafe Breakfast on 21 November to support White Ribbon Day and the campaign to end violence against women.

SleepSafe Breakfast - In support of White Ribbon Day, the international campaign to eliminate violence against women by promoting culture-change around the issue.

Helen Brown, UNIFEM representative and ABC journalist, will MC the event.

White Ribbon Day Ambassador Brendon Gale, CEO of the AFL Players Association will speak.

The SleepSafe Breakfast is organised by Project 5-O, a coalition of BPW Australia, Soroptimist International, Zonta International, National Council of Women, Federation of University Women Australia, with the support of QVWC.

SleepSafe aims to raise public awareness of the prevalance and impact of domestic violence within the community and to see an end to violence against women and children, allowing all a safe night's sleep.

Support the SleepSafe campaign by attending the breakfast or donating pyjamas for women and children which will be given to local women's refuges to provide some comfort during difficult times.

Details

SleepSafe Breakfast - in support of White Ribbon Day

When: Wednesday, 21 November 2007; 7.00am to 9.00am
Where: Park Hyatt, 1 Parliament Place, East Melbourne
Cost: $55/head or $525 per table of 10.

Corporate sponsor tables available upon request.

Spaces are limited. Reserve your place today by registering online at Business and Professional Women (click on 'Events').

Questions? Email the SleepSafe organisers at: sleepsafe@gmail.com

About White Ribbon Day

A White Ribbon Day banner calls for men to say no to violence against women.

White Ribbon Day was created by a handful of Canadian men in 1991 on the second anniversary of one man's massacre of fourteen women in Montreal. They began the White Ribbon Campaign to urge men to speak out against violence against women.

In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly declared November 25 the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW) and the White Ribbon has become the symbol for the day.

From 2000, the Commonwealth Government Office for Women ran awareness activities on the International Day, and, in 2003, the Australian branch of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM, began a partnership with men and men's organisations to make this a national campaign. Ten thousand white ribbons were distributed in 2003.

Today hundreds of thousands of white ribbons are worn by men and women across Australia - men at work; men and women in all Australian police forces; men in national and local sporting matches and organisations; men in the media; men and women in politics; men in the defence forces; men and women in capital cities and in rural and regional Australia.