Inspirational women revealed

Inspirational Women Awards Gala organiser Julia Strelou. PHOTO: ARCHIVE

Twenty-one women from across the country, including a Dame, a medical cannabis pioneer, and a humanitarian providing surgeries to orphans and widows in Iraq, have been named as finalists in the new-look 2024 Inspirational Women Awards.

Now in its third year, the awards celebrate female leaders and change-makers, while also raising money for Women’s Refuge with the ultimate goal of providing a safe house in Queenstown.

To date, more than $55,000 has been raised.

For the first time this year, two national awards have been introduced, alongside the Otago-Southland awards, all to be announced at a gala dinner at Queenstown’s Rydges Lakeland Resort on November 30.

Event organiser Julia Strelou says hundreds of women were nominated this year, making judging extremely difficult — along with finalists across six different categories, 10 highly-commended medals are being awarded.

"So many of our finalists are humble, unsung community heroes, and that’s part of what makes celebrating them so special.

"I get phone calls from women crying in thanks each year.

"It’s about empowering our wāhine and sharing their stories," Strelou says.

She notes this is the first event of its kind in NZ which raises money and awareness to support victims of domestic violence, and given the rising rates of domestic violence across Australasia there’s "never been a more important time for this event".

"On average, 50,000 women and children are referred to Women’s Refuge annually, and staff answer 71 crisis calls daily.

"We want to come together to get loud about domestic violence and promote change in a sector that darkens our beautiful country."

To buy tickets for November’s awards dinner, or learn more about the finalists, visit shorturl.at/QMZyc

The finalists are ...

Woman of the Year NZ