Victoria Congress 2025 - Program
Friday 28 March - Coming together
Various locations, optional activities, all at own cost
A casual day with optional guided walks in some of the bushlands around the town to observe, to reflect, to absorb. Wear purple, green and white ribbons to identify yourself as participants start arriving, and as a celebration of our brave suffragist great grandmothers.
12 pm - Meet at Saff’s Café, 64 Mostyn Street, Castlemaine
Arrivals can gather, collect their purple, green and white ribbons and have lunch.
Afternoon - Optional activities, Castlemaine
Visit to Buda, an historical house and gallery where six sisters lived and created art and metal work. The venue has a shop but no café, lovely garden, very women-centred. Open 12 pm to 4 pm. Entry fees: $12 adult, $10 concession.
Visit to Kaweka nature park in Kaweka Street, Castlemaine. Guided walk at 2:30 pm.
NEW - Empowering collaborative action - IDGs, SDGs and experiential learning. This is a deep learning session that cultivates the mindsets that bring the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to life. This dynamic simulation, combined with the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) Framework, fosters collaboration, systems thinking, and fresh insights into how the leadership capacities for driving meaningful change can be practically developed.
Time: 2.45 pm to 5.30 pm.
Venue: Christ Church Castlemaine, 8 Mostyn Street, Castlemaine.
Cost: Sliding scale $35-$99 - pay what you can, just come to engage in the conversation!
If you can’t make it to this event, there’s a similar event on Monday 31 March. Scroll down for details or see here.
6.30 pm - Dinner (at own cost) at Railway Hotel, 65 Gingell Street, Castlemaine
With guest speakers:
Professor Kate Auty (barrister, historian, environmentalist, author and active community member in regional Victoria), who will speak about communities challenging the status quo in country Victoria.
Melissa Abel (Executive Officer, Bendigo Sustainability Group), who will speak about the Bendigo Sustainability Group and Festival (TBC).
If you are coming to this dinner, please register: Pre-event dinner registration.
Local women who are unable to attend the weekend congress event are also welcome to attend this event. Please register.
Saturday 29 March - Challenging the status quo
Castlemaine Town Hall, 25 Lyttleton Street, Castlemaine
A day for gathering and getting to know each other, hearing stories of great grandmothers and women today who are challenging the status quo. We’ll explore the WCC Charter for Change and the potential of women’s leadership for local, national and international transformative action on climate change.
We will be accompanied on our journey by Josephine Ford, lead scribe at studio RAA, who will be supporting our storytelling with live scribing throughout the event. Visual storytelling is a powerful way to rapid capture content into a rich visual narrative. www.studioraa.com
All day - Stalls, art and book displays/sales
In foyer and hall area.
8 am - Arrive, register, settle in
You might like to take this opportunity to view the art display of pieces brought by participants.
9 am - Introductions and Welcome to Country with Djaara Elder, Aunty Sandra Barber
9.15 am - Keynote address: The Great Grandmother’s Story
Dr Janet Salisbury, Founder Women’s Climate Congress, with A Chorus of Women
Janet will introduce the congress with the her-story of the WW1 women’s peace movement, which inspired the formation of the Women’s Climate Congress, and share how the women’s resolutions from 1915 have inspired the WCC Charter for Change and how this story can motivate women globally to plan an International Congress of Women to challenge the status quo of global politics and turn the tide on climate change.
9.45 am - Stories of Change - a collective timeline
Victoria McKenzie-McHarg will introduce the 7-metre Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia banner that will be displayed at Castlemaine Town Hall during the event. Stories of Change: A Collective Timeline is a living, evolving artwork that honours the interconnected struggles and triumphs of those who have shaped social change in Australia.
9.50 am - Group discussion
10.20 am - Morning tea
10.40 am - Panel: Women challenging the status quo now
A panel conversation featuring women in environmental leadership.
With:
Victoria McKenzie-McHarg – CEO, Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia.
Sharan Burrow – Global advocate for human rights, climate action and Just Transition; Australian convenor, Women Leading on Climate.
Bec Blurton (moderator) – Managing Director, First Nations Affairs; WCC Steering Circle.
Ashleigh Streeter-Jones – Founder, Raising Our Voice Australia.
Professor Susan Harris Rimmer (online) – champion of human rights, climate justice, intergenerational justice and gender equality; Director of the Griffith University Policy Innovation Hub.
11.30 am – Q&A
11.45 am - Participant presentations: ‘So many different voices’
With MC Dr Mary Picard, Gender and disaster risk expert, WCC Steering Circle
Ellie Venning – National Union of Students' Women's Officer
Keli McDonald – CEO, National Rural Women’s Coalition.
Chloe Wegener - Project Officer, Wiyi Yani U Thangani First Nations Gender Justice Institute, ANU .
Beverly Baker – CEO, Older Women’s Network
Clare Gibellini – Policy Officer, Women With Disabilities Australia (online).
12.30 pm - Q&A and group discussion
1.00 pm - Lunch
1.45 pm - Participant presentations: ‘Reimagining the Motherworld’
With MC Shelley Anderson, Environmental practitioner, WCC Steering Circle
Jenny Cameron – Historian, writer and social activist, particularly for women’s rights and the rights of Nature.
Dr Radha Wagle – Biodiversity and Climate Adaptation Specialist, Glen Eira City Council, Victoria; formerly Director General, Department of Plant Resources, Ministry of Forests and Environment, Nepal.
Sophie Hardefeldt – Policy and Research Manager, ActionAid Australia.
Robyn James – Global Director of Gender Equity, The Nature Conservancy will introduce a video presentation of ‘Nature’s Leading Women’.
Mamta Borgoryary – Executive Director, She Changes Climate (video presentation - at a time TBC).
2.30 pm - Q&A and group discussion
3 pm - Afternoon tea
3.20 pm – Workshop: Women challenging the status quo for local, national and global climate action
Building agency together: choosing the futures we carry and use
A workshop desisgned for building capacity and planning for women changing the climate locally, nationally and internationally.
Workshop design and lead facilitator:
Stephanie Rosestone – Futures thinking researcher, facilitator who designs programs and experiences that provoke deep thinking and active learning.
With
Lyn Stephens – WCC Steering Circle, Membership and Communications Lead.
Janet Salisbury – WCC Founder and Program Lead.
5.15 pm – ‘We are the women’
Singing with A Chorus of Women.
5.30 pm – Free time
6.30 to 9.00 pm – Dinner, catered, Castlemaine Town Hall
Followed by a game of serious (trivial) pursuit to create conversation about the WCC Charter for Change (pre-reading the Charter will greatly help you with this game).
Bring your musical instrument and voice and perform if you wish. There will be also be some group singing.
Sue Gee will entertain us with some of her original songs.
Wildaliz De Jesús will lead ‘Everbody Salsa’ – a Salsa routine which she describes as ‘moving wheel, an engine of social connectivity’.
Pauline Galvin will close out the evening with sacred circle dancing.
Sunday 30 March - Changing the status quo: working towards outcomes
Castlemaine Town Hall, 25 Lyttleton Street, Castlemaine
A day to explore working towards the outcomes, with discussion groups on activism principles, learning about speaking your messages of climate concerns to your communities, to your MPs etc. Find out how to take the experience of this weekend to your own community and maintain the efforts.
All day - Stalls, art and book displays/sales
In foyer and hall area.
7.30 am – Breakfast
With informal table conversations: ‘What key message is coming up for you?’. You might also like to view the art displays and talk with new-made friends and contacts.
8.30 am - Opening and reflections on Saturday
8.45 am – Participant short talk
Hannah Vardy – Student, duty of care campaigner (video)
9 am - Panel – Women leading policy change: collaboration for a climate secure future
A panel conversation with women parliamentarians:
Dr Monique Ryan MP - Federal Member for Kooyong (Independent) (online).
Senator Steph Hodgins-May - Federal Senator for Victoria ( Australian Greens) (online)
Hon Maree Edwards MP – Victorian State Member for Bendigo West (ALP), representing Minister Hon Lily D’Dambrosio, Victorian State Minister for Climate Action
Jade Benham MP – Victorian State Member for Mildura (National Party)
Dr Janet Salisbury – WCC Founder and Program Lead (moderator).
10 am – WCC Steering Circle presentation: Time for action
A panel conversation about the aims of the Congress with members of the WCC Steering Circle:
Janet Salisbury
Shelley Anderson
Liz Courtney
Mary Picard
10.30 am - Morning tea
10.45 am - Action workshop
Story-telling - Important messages around climate change
Liz Courtney - Award-winning film director and science communicator, WCC Steering Circle
Shelley Anderson - Environmental consultant, WCC Steering Circle
This session seeks to amplify our collective women’s voices grounded in wisdom, kindness, gratitude, purpose, and the power of storytelling. Building on the insights and energy of the day’s preceding events—including a discussion of key messages, a facilitated panel with Australian politicians, and a WCC Steering Circle panel on a unified national climate agreement —participants will be guided to weave these threads into a shared narrative. Together, we aim to inspire a collaborative, women-led vision for climate leadership and action across Australia.
The workshop will include discussion groups on speaking your messages of climate concerns to your communities, to your MPs etc.
Exploring how to take the experience of this weekend to your own community and maintain the efforts.
Actions for local, national and international levels.
Making social media videos and/or designing/sending letters to ministers, MPs.
12.30 pm - Lunch
1 pm - Women’s circle: Action workshop feedback
Exploring feedback and items produced in action workshops (for example, sharing videos made, letters, etc.).
1.30 pm - Women’s circle: Farewell discussions
Farewell discussions, where to from here.
2 pm - Group meditative dance
Based on Enya’s music, Watermark.
2.15 pm – Pack up and farewells
Monday 31 March - NEW
Optional activity, at own cost
10.45 am to 2.30 pm – Shift happens - artful action for sustainability
An immersive, high-energy experience where we’ll explore the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a fast-paced simulation that sparks collaboration, systems thinking, and fresh insights. It’s part game, part strategy session, and part deep conversation—where art, activism, and action collide. We’ll also dive into the Inner Development Goals (IDGs)—the mindset shifts and leadership skills needed to turn ideas into real change at the local and global levels.
Venue: Christ Church Castlemaine, 8 Mostyn Street, Castlemaine.
Cost: Sliding scale $35-$99 - pay what you can, just come and play!
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