23 July 1993 New 'Stepping Out" Programme for Women's Suffrage Year

The successful and influential Rural Woman Stepping Out programmes of the 1980s are being revived by Lincoln University and the Rural Women's Education Trust in recognition of Suffrage Year.

Continuing Education Officer Betty Shore says that following the pattern of earlier years the programme, scheduled for 22-23 August, will combine speakers, discussions and skills development workshops with opportunities for networking, personal growth and renewal.

"We will be looking at the current changing scene in our personal lives, families, communities and the nation, and sharing strategies for affecting the changes that are taking place."

Organising committee member Marie Martin of Darfield says the programme will offer a time "to reflect on where we are now, where we would like to progress to, and to develop plans on how to get there."

Louise Deans also of Darfield, another committee member, says the programme is a unique opportunity for rural women in the South Island.

"This is a South Island initiative to enable rural women to come together to learn skills for survival in the country. The coming together and companionship is really important in what we will be offering," she says.

The women who will be speaking and leading the workshops will offer a range of dynamic role models and most of them will be from rural areas themselves.

Participants will learn new skills and acquire information to understand and affect the changes that are happening in their lives; share insights and strategies with other rural women from throughout the South Island; meet new friends and catch up with old ones; and renew personal resources and strength for the realities they will face on their return from the gathering.

Betty Shore says that the title change in the programme from "Rural Woman" (the 1980s usage) to "Rural Women" (for the 1993 programme) reflects the opportunities for women to share their personal resources collectively to overcome the isolation they sometimes feel.

Committee member Judith Hoban of Culverden says that for some the programme may just mean going home with more hopeful feelings so that they are better able to cope with things in their daily lives, but for others it could mean saying 'I'd like to be doing more now in my community'.

The opening speaker on Sunday 22 August will be Ashburton MP and Social Welfare Minister Jenny Shipley. On Monday morning Dr Ann Pomeroy of MAF Policy Division will raise issues for discussion from the Scoping Report on Rural Women.

Panels and workshops during the rest of the programme will include personal development skills such as goal setting, decision making, stress management, and assisting family and friends who are under particular stress. There will also be workshops which will look at the changing economics for rural people including skills for developing varied business projects. Other workshops will look at changing roles in marriages and the legal aspects as they apply particularly to rural people. Education, health, human rights, community action and development and participation in decision making at local, regional and national levels are other topics that will be included.

Committee member Lyn Nell of Rakaia Gorge summarises the programme as providing rural women with "stimulation, motivation and support".

A fee of $90 covers meals and accommodation.

If you would like to attend, contact Betty Shore, Centre for Continuing Education, PO Box 84, Lincoln University, Canterbury, telephone (03) 3252-811 ext 8349.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury.