Celebrate You Week

Celebrate You Week is a national YWCA event every May to highlight issues of self-esteem, body image and women’s holistic well-being.

We are all surrounded by women who are clever, generous, assertive, inspiring and above all unique. We all have differences in perspective, experience and where we are in our lives and this contributes to the diversity, interest and excitement of the community we live in.

However, we all know that being a woman – young or old can be difficult, particularly when it comes to feeling good about who we are and how we look. So often this is intertwined with issues of body image. Through media and other sources we are constantly bombarded with images of how we should look, and who we should be. We all sometimes feel the temptation to just be like everyone else, not stand out in the crowd, let others do the leading instead of us.

One of the hardest things in life can be accepting and respecting who we are; it can be hard work learning to feel comfortable in our own shoes! Sometimes it can be reassuring to know that we are not alone in this quest.

In May every year, the YWCA of Canberra encourages women to celebrate their individuality and uniqueness during Celebrate You Week.

Be Brave! Be Different! Be Unique!
And above all, always CELEBRATE YOU!

To mark Celebrate You Week this year (6 - 12 May 2012), the YWCA of Canberra and the ANU Gender Institute hosted a screening and panel discussion of Miss Representation. Miss Representation is a documentary film exposing how mainstream U.S. media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence. Through provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics, Miss Representation challenges the media's limited and often disparaging portrayals of women.

Following the film screening, Siobhan Heanue, ABC News Canberra, facilitated a panel discussion about women and the media in Australia. The panel featured:

• Fiona Jolly, CEO, Advertising Standards Bureau 
• Dr Rosanne Kennedy, Associate Professor, Head of Discipline, Gender Sexuality & Culture ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
• Brede Davis, Year 12 student, Narrabundah College

For further information about this event please contact the YWCA of Canberra at canberra@ywca-canberra.org.au or 6175 9900.

Celebrate You Week 2011

In 2011, members of the YWCA of Canberra took part in an exhibition of photographs by Hilary Wardhaugh Photography, which was displayed during Celebrate You Week. The exhibtion represented women of all ages and backgrounds, celebrating their individuality and uniqueness. Hilary Wardhaugh is an award winning ACT photographer and a member of the YWCA of Canberra.

"Now having a 12 year old daughter, I am even more aware of the effects on girls and women of body image messaegs that come from the media, and the importance and challenge of encouraging all women to feel comfortable in their own skin" - Celebrate You participant, May 2011.

Celebrate You Week 2010

In Celebrate You Week 2010 we celebrated mothers as leaders and the considerable contribution of our mothers.

The YWCA of Canberra recognises women's leadership across all public and private spheres, and acknowledges the significant leadership role our mothers play in their families and communities.  We acknowledge the skills and strengths our mothers have brought to their roles in public and community life.  We honour the positive influence our mothers have had on our lives.  We thank our mums for sharing their experience and wisdom, and helping us to learn and grow.

Celebrate You Week 2009

In our 80th year we marked Celebrate You Week by launching our 'this is what a feminist looks like' T-shirt.  We celebrated feminism and acknowledged the positive impact of gender equality on women's health and well-being.

We also celebrated the diversity of feminists through history, across ages, and across the globe, and reflected how feminism and the YWCA of Canberra have evolved to respond to the needs and experiences of different generations of women and community.

The YWCA of Canberra is a proud feminist organisation and has a long history of advocating for women's rights in the ACT.

Celebrate You Week 2008

As part of Celebrate You Week 2008, the YWCA of Canberra launched the Be (YOU)nique T-shirt. Inspired by the Be (YOU)nique booklet, the T-shirt celebrates positive body image and encourages women to celebrate their own uniqueness.

Be (YOU)nique is a booklet about body image and self-esteem developed by young women and supported and published by the YWCA of Canberra in 2006. Alongside launching the new T-shirt, the YWCA of Canberra re-distributed the Be (YOU)nique booklet and developed a fact sheet about body image to distribute to schools and services for young people.

Be brave, be different, Be (YOU)nique! T-shirt design
Purchase a Be(You)nique T-shirt

Body image factsheet (76 KB)

Celebrate You Week 2007

To mark Celebrate You Week 2007, the YWCA of Canberra launched the Relationship Things booklet, acknowledging the importance and power of safe and respectful relationships in women’s health and well-being.

Relationship Things was developed by the YWCA of Canberra for young men and women aged 14-16 years, to encourage young people to build relationships that are safe and respectful. The booklet is an early intervention resource designed to target the very real and challenging issues of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Celebrate You Week 2006

As part of Celebrate You Week 2006, the YWCA of Canberra launched Be (YOU)nique, a positive, fresh and funky collection of stories, experiences and insights compiled into a booklet, exploring issues of body image and self-esteem. Be (YOU)nique was developed and produced by a group of young women and supported by the YWCA of Canberra.

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