Each year, Soroptimist Clubs are invited to nominate a project for the Best Practice Award. The projects need to demonstrate their excellence in planning, administering, execution and evaluation of the a project to transform lives for women and girls around the Federation, This is a prestigious award, showcasing projects which have achieved results.
These are the winners for 2024 for projects undertaken and delivered during 2023.
Education
WINNER - SI Penang : Girls in Stem
Report ID: 20230919102648
SI Penang for their project STEM 2.0: Journey of Young Tech Professionals.
The core objective is to inspire Form 1 female students to develop their interest in studying science subjects and to motivate them by showing the various career options as there is a decline in number of females in the STEM career. STEM 2.0 in 2023 was the second enhanced workshop with the additional feature of 4 young female engineers from Micron Semiconductor sharing their personal stories and challenges in their journey with study and work. They developed their own workshop and incorporate STEM in the activities. This is an interactive workshop and we want to engage the students in a fun and unconventional manner and from there to introduce the basic concept of science subjects and problem-solving skills. The ultimate goal is to cultivate their interest in STEM subjects and to inspire them by showing the job opportunities out there with better prospect if they choose to study science. We hope to achieve gender equality by empowering these girls in the field of STEM as a career. SI Penang devlopoed a interactive workshop to engage the students in a fun and unconventional manner and from there we introduce the basic concept of science subjects and problem-solving skills. View this video of one of the girls being interviewed
HIGHLY COMMENDED - SI Bangsar: Scam Alert Advocacy Project
Report ID: 20231108125130,
SI Bangsar's advocacy project aimed to raise awareness about scams and advocate for the prevention of scams. The project involved various activities and campaigns designed to provide accurate information about different types of scams, their characteristics, and methods used by scammers. This advocacy information is important to equip people in different communities with knowledge and resources to recognize scams. The ultimate goal of this project is to empower individuals to recognize warning signs, common tactics used by scammers, and to protect them and others from being scammed.
Elimination of Violence
WINNER: SI Torrens - Lets Build a Community
ID 20231212124150
SI Torrens project Lets Build a Community that makes a Difference: End Domestic Violence project, in partnership with Rotary Club of Mawson Lakes, Zonta Club Para Districts, Salisbury Council and John Fullbrook MP, they formed a committee, known as RoZSI’s Voice for media purposes, to promote the 16 Days of Activism in the local community with several events and campaigns. Local events provided an opportunity for closer interaction with the public while media activity addressed the wider public in the area. Coercive control was selected for particular emphasis as many in the public were unaware of it. Read more on the facebook page
Economic Empowerment
WINNER - SI Moreton North - Be Inspired Awards IWD 2023
Report ID: 20231101073813
When you can see it, you can be it! Women live busy lives. Many contribute significant voluntary hours to
support others in the community without any recognition. Hosting our annual SIMNI Be Inspired IWD
Awards is our opportunity to recognise these community heroes and to also highlight the work that SIMNI members are involved locally and internationally. It showcases to the women and girls in our local region, mentors and role models, who are just like them. Volunteers do not necessarily have the time, they just have the heart. It is possible to make a difference, regardless or age, race, or financial circumstances. By hosting an IWD event in a local and disabled friendly facility gives the local community an easier opportunity to attend an International Women’s Day Event.
Food Security
WINNER - SI Shah Alam - Food Waste Management Project
Report ID: 20231228020708
SI Shah Alam in collaboration with Asia Pacific University, student volunteers, together with The
Lost Food Project (food waste collection and distribution center), and Pusat Kreatif Kanak Kanak Tengku Bainun are children from all walks of life (regardless of income, gender, religion, language or ability) have joined forces to address food waste by educating children, yound women and mothers on repurposing overripe or surplus fruits and vegetables into products like sauces and jams. This initiative aims to reduce waste and promote sustainability by integrating practical food management with an educational program. Key tasks include sorting food, developing a curriculum on waste management, conducting hands-on teaching sessions, and evaluating the project's impact through established KPIs. Objectives are realistic, agreed upon by stakeholders, and aim to significantly reduce food waste while educating numerous children on sustainable practices.
HIGHLY COMMENDED - SI Lautoka - Food Security for Jasper Hostel Students
Report ID: 20231220113706
The project evolved after a request from Jasper High school to assist with food source for their hostel students (approx 100 female students) as it was becoming expensive to provide daily meals for the students due to the rising food cost. The club members discussed the most innovative way to assist and decided to do a sustainable project to provide food for the students. The club members planted vegetables (egg plants, cabbage, tomatoes) and root crop (cassava) at the Jasper High school hostel gardens. Cassava is a staple food in Fiji, its production is increasing, and it is slowly replacing other traditional food crops in the diet. The potential for this crop is enormous; a surplus could be easily produced and made into flour to replace part of the wheat four used for baking. Generally, cassava can be grown throughout the year.
Healthcare
WINNER: SI Albany - Multi-Sensory Time Project
Report ID: 20231204041330
Multi Sensory Time Kits were developed to meet a community need. People living with dementia suffer
from social isolation, depression and loss of self worth. Under the direction of Club member Rosalind Sawyer, (retired Occupational Therapist), a club sub committee was formed to investigate how we could improve the lives of people with neurological disorders and their carers. We conducted a literature review and researched what other tools were available through IP Australia. We discovered that available items were generic and predominantly focused on sight, hearing, or touch (e.g. fiddle cushions) and did not promote social inclusion and discussion. We developed Multi-Sensory Time Kits with 5 themes to achieve our goal of ensuring healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages. In 2022-2023 our main goal was to promote and distribute 100 Multisensory packs . Read more here
HIGHLY COMMENDED : SI Townsville Breakwater - Safe Nights Project
Report ID: 20230818083043
The SI Townsville Breakwater Club acknowledge the ongoing and emergent need for crisis accommodation for women and their families in the community who are the victims of domestic violence and homelessness. The club made a commitment to partner with the Townsville Women’s Centre to assist in this significant area of need. The ‘Safe Nights’ project was born and has rapidly become a project of high priority for the club and is linked to a majority of current and past activities undertaken. Donate to the project here
Environmental Sustainability
WINNER: SI Beenleigh and SI Logan - Federation Art Competition Living with Nature
ID 20231201064116 and 20231221011025
The Environment is at the forefront of world endeavours in current times. It is of particular importance to youth as they will inherit the world in which we live. The project emphasised the biennium theme ‘A Voice for Change” and one of the Federations Presidents 5E’s- Environment. Youth are seen as the way forward in issues concerning the environment. The Art competition provided them with a platform to research issues, use their voice to express ideas in raising awareness.
SI Beenleigh and SI Logan partnered on this project which was multi focused, various schools, art schools were invited to participate as well as a information booth at the LEAF festival at Griffiths University campus.
HIGHLY COMMENDED: SI Torrens - Blister Pack Blitz
ID 20231211091823
After the success of our recycling programme the club undertook a plan to extend this to focus specifically on Blister Packs. The success of the club members in recycling led a member currently living in Lutheran Homes Glynde (LHG) to suggest an extension of the project by an investigation into whether LHG would partner the club in recycling for their residents. Using specialised recycling technology, located right here in Australia, Pharmacycle ensures that blister packs collected for recycling are actually recycled. Once collected, blister packs are transported to one of their processing facilities. Here, they are put through a series of mechanical recycling processes to separate the aluminium from the plastic. Finally, the separated aluminium and plastic materials are sent to end-users to be turned into a range of new products
