Women of Inspiration Celebration 2023

SNAPSHOT OF THE 2023 EVENT

TOGETHER: Women of Inspiration Celebration, presented by Bouchier, celebrates and honours outstanding women of the Wood Buffalo region.

These are women who are role models, inspirations and icons.

They represent what it means to be strong, smart and bold – you can’t be, what you can’t see.

In 2020, we ‘shattered’ the (in)visible barriers surrounding the everyday life of girls and women.

In 2021, we brought those shattered pieces together to celebrate the rich ‘mosaic’ they created.

In 2022, we amplified one another’s ‘voices’ represented in the mosaic.

And this year, we come 'together' to strengthen and empower one another.

Together: Women of Inspiration Celebration 2023 will kick off on International Women’s Day (Wednesday, March 8, 2023) with youth-focused programming, shared with students across the region.

Building on this momentum, TOGETHER: Women of Inspiration Celebration 2023 will take place on Saturday, March 18, 2023.

With a hybrid offering of both virtual and in-person components, attendees will be able to come together in whatever way is comfortable and safe for them.

The evening will highlight and honour how each of the Women of Inspiration has empowered girls and women by breaking barriers and taking positive risks.

There will be an inspirational keynote presentation on the topic of coming ‘together’ by Manjit Minhas.

In-person guests will enjoy a series of delicious meals, beverages, auctions and various lineups of activities, guests participating virtually will share the moment via at-home celebration kits.

The evening will wrap up with more local entertainment and an after-party.

Women of Inspiration 2023

Amy Parsons

Amy Parsons

“I always think I try to do what’s right, not what’s easy. I’ve never done that with the intention of being a role model, or being a leader or anything like that. I’ve just done it because I feel like that’s what it means to be a good human. I strive to leave the planet and the world in a better place because of some small tangible actions I can take.”

Surekha Kanzig

Surekha Kanzig

“It’s up to everyone individually to learn how to learn. To be a continuous learner and to teach yourself what you need to know to get ahead in life. Ahead is everyone’s own definition of what that is. You can expect other people to do things for you all the time and you can’t expect other people to teach you all the time."

Saakshi

Saakshi Arvikar

“It’s just that belief in yourself that you can achieve it. Even if, starting out, you don’t have that belief in yourself, you fake it and eventually you kind of start believing in yourself and good things will start coming your way […] If you accomplish something, you need to say that you did because you did. Don’t lie, brag, or be over confident, just have that firm belief in yourself.” 

Precious Majekodunmi

Precious Majekodunmi

“I’m honestly extremely honoured and very excited to have such a nomination. It also shows me that people believe that I’ve demonstrated the qualities of being strong, smart, and bold. I do try to portray those qualities in my relationships every day, but realizing that someone went as far as nominating those qualities means a lot.” 

Kg Banjoko

Kg Banjoko

“Living in Fort McMurray you kind of see things if you are a black person or a person of color that other people don’t. Finally having a space to be like ‘oh, we can talk about it now,’ was really positive. But then also seeing the pushback online kind of made me feel like I wanted to tap into the action and not just be online sharing my perspective and arguing with people in comments. I wanted to give people a chance to see that even here in Fort Mac, there are people that are progressive, that understand that institutional racism is a thing and don’t want to gloss over it.”