The first Frome International Women’s Day Conference at the Cheese & Grain will be on Saturday 9th March.
This special Women’s Day event supporting and empowering the women of Frome, will be made up of short talks with special guest speakers throughout the day and taster workshops. All are welcome.
The organisers, Rachel Griffin from Frome Town Council, Tracey Rawlins from the Cheese & Grain and Rosie Eliot founder of Frome’s Engaging Women, say they are thrilled to announce some inspiring women who will be giving talks throughout the day, which will be divided into business, wellbeing and literature/arts sections.
Frome Town Council kicks of the International Women’s Day Event at the Cheese and Grain with ‘Women Mean Business’. Veronica Hope-Hailey, Dean of management studies at Bath University will give the inaugural talk.
Dr Jean Boulton, visiting fellow at Bath University, as a Frome town councillor, has been a keen champion for business in Frome and will chair a panel aimed at inspiring start-ups and established businesses alike. It will discuss what help is available, what is needed and look at how it is possible to grow small businesses in the current climate.
The panel discussion will feature local business owners Amy Welch, director of Busy Bees, Ellen Porteous owner/manager of both River House Cafe and The Fat Radish and Jo Rollaston of Action Coach.
Jess Hellens from Wild Co-working, which features a co-working space for women at the Town Hall, will then discuss her venture focussing on what support women might need in a lone work situation – as well as talking about different aspects of starting out.
Author, businesswoman, entrepreneur, teacher and PR legend, Lynne Franks has been a trailblazer her entire life.
Lynne is recognised as an iconic changemaker and visionary who has identified and promoted many major diverse changes and life style trends in contemporary society for more than four decades and is delivering her ‘Power of 7 Women’s Leadership Programmes’, which heals the whole woman as well as being a new modality for women to come together to create and support community projects and businesses. She received an OBE in 2018 for her contribution to business, fashion and the empowerment of women. Lynne will be telling her story.
The hugely inspirational Kit Stapely has had three separate cancer diagnoses and each time she created seemingly miraculous outcomes that helped her to build the life of her dreams.
In her humorous and inspiring talk she invites you to create in reality the life of your dreams.
Chris Mosler is a freelance writer and blogger and long-time Frome resident. She writes about vegetarian food and family life at Thinly Spread and for anyone else who asks her! Mum to four children aged from 7 to 16, she is delighted to have switched from a career as a teacher to one where she can write about the things she loves and spend time with her children doing them!
Clare Empson, journalist and debut author of the novel HIM, talks about carving out space for a creative life in the thick of motherhood. HIM took 9 years to write and started out in daily 20-minute bursts while her baby was under the activity gym. Battling self doubt, getting up at five am and weekends lost to the writing cave: Clare will discuss the highs and lows of the writing process, the shock of coming up against your innermost thoughts and how self expression can be the most powerful, life-affirming journey.
Karen Eberhardt-Shelton will read snippets from her anthology ‘A Women’s Guide to Saving the World’ which asks the simple question: What would you do to make the world a better place?
The enquiry is directed at women, but the responses are by no means limited to gender-specific issues. Karen spent four years contacting women from across the globe, before collating their responses into A Women’s Guide To Saving The World, a 360-page collection of more than 100 essays by a range of diverse contributors, including Margaret Drabble, Rosie Boycott, Mo Mowlam, Jilly Cooper, Anita Roddick and Jemima Khan.
Internationally acclaimed, award-winning Irish folk singer and Frome resident, Cara Dillon, will finish the day with her story including juggling motherhood with her hugely successful singing-songwriting career.
There will also be a selection of workshops on the day.
The event is due to finish at 4pm with live music and speciality gins available in the bar and light bites served throughout the day.
Tickets are £8 (concessions £4) and are on sale through the Cheese & Grain call 01373 455 420 or online www.cheeseandgrain.com
Frome International Women’s Day Conference will take place on Saturday 9th March 10am – 4pm.
