Nominations open on Sunday, coinciding with International Women’s Day, for the fourth Inspirational Women Awards — winners will be announced at a black tie gala on November 21, being held at QT Queenstown, which doubles as a fundraiser for Women’s Refuge.
It’s the only event of its kind in New Zealand, and the only fundraising event where two family violence charities — the second is Central Lakes Family Services (CLFS) — come together.
The four categories open to women across the wider Otago region, including Queenstown, are Inspirational Woman, Entrepreneurial Woman, Community Woman and Resilient Woman, with two national categories — Woman of the Year and Change-Maker of the Year — as well as an Otago and National People’s Choice Award.
Event organiser Julia Strelou says anyone can nominate wā`hine who are Kiwi citizens or permanent residents they think are deserving of recognition, or women can nominate themselves, before 11.59pm on June 5, via inspirationalwomenawards.org
Finalists will be revealed in Mountain Scene on July 16.
First held in 2021, over $80,000 has been raised for Women’s Refuge to date — at the last event, in 2024, CLFS impact and development leader Ella Hitchcock announced Queenstown’s ‘‘transformational’’ new safe house had been established.
The focus now is on keeping the doors open to provide safe nights for women and children escaping abuse locally.
Strelou says having the safe house operational is ‘‘unbelievable’’, but there’s more to be done.
Nationally, she says, one in three women will experience family violence in their lifetime.
‘‘Despite having a safe house [locally], NZ still has the highest rates of family violence in the OECD.
‘‘There will never be enough work done in this space until we reduce these horrific statistics.’’
Now being held every second year, Strelou says the ‘‘off year’’ will enable her to make the event bigger and better, and spend more time on advocacy and creating an event network.
‘‘Doing it every year, for me just doing it on my own, became a little bit much.
‘‘Once we got the safe house, I thought this was an opportunity to move it biennially and just ensure I was able to give it 100% . . .personally, I think we actually keep the momentum by doing it every two years and there are opportunities to expand.’’
That includes, for example, the Penny Black Women’s Refuge Auction Evening being held in Cromwell on March 26, which includes canapes, guest speakers and a charity auction, proceeds from which will go to southern Women’s Refuge branches, including CLFS.
Strelou’s expecting November’s Inspirational Women Awards & Gala for Women’s Refuge Services, to include silent and live auctions and guest speakers, will again be a sell-out and hopes it’ll push total funds raised to date past the $100,000 mark.
Tickets are now on sale — they cost $187, plus fees, each, or $1870, plus fees, for a table of 10, via the event website.
Meantime, anyone with items they’d like to donate to be auctioned off at the main event can email hello@galaforwomensrefugequeenstown.co.nz
