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We are so excited to tell you guys all about RISE2018, the conference we’ve been working on for the past few months, which takes place on Thursday next, October 11th, which also happens to be International Day of the Girl.

We have partnered with our friends at Waterford Libraries and Beat 102103 to invite 350 transition year girls in the South East to hear from a panel of inspirational women on themes such as overcoming adversity, appreciating our bodies, being active citizens and overcoming mental health issues. We will also celebrate our RISE heroes, the five girls we’ve chosen from each of the five counties in the South East for their bravery, compassion or kindness.

The day is a celebration of all that it means to be a girl, and will be full of music, love and positivity. It has been booked out for some time, but we aim to do it again soon. In the meantime, keep an eye on our Social media over the coming week where we’ll share snippits and pictures.

Our speakers on the day are:

Caroline Foran: Owning Anxiety And Building Confidence

Caroline Foran is a prominent freelance lifestyle journalist working in Dublin within the areas of health, wellbeing, beauty and interiors. The author of two bestselling books, (Owning It and The Confidence Kit) Caroline is a regular voice across TV, radio and social media, and runs workshops helping fellow anxiety sufferers own their anxiety so it no longer holds them back and build lasting confidence.

Sarah Doyle: “How to Fall in Love With Your Body”

Sarah is a life coach, author, TEDx speaker and the founder of the The Better Life Project, her life coaching business. She works with women and men all over the world to help them achieve their personal and professional goals whilst developing their confidence and self esteem.

Nikki Bradley: “Make Every Second Count”

Nikki Bradley is an adapted adventurer and speaker who was given a second chance at the tender age of 16. The diagnosis of a rare form of bone cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma changed Nikki’s life direction. She is the founder of fitness based awareness campaign ‘Fighting Fit For Ewing’s’ which involves participating in physical challenges such as an attempted Guinness World Record in Holland. In July of this year, Nikki became the first crutch user to climb 4 Irish mountains on crutches in less than 32 hours.

Ellen Coyne: “What I Wish I’d Known About Life”.

Ellen Coyne is a senior reporter at the Ireland edition of The Times, covering politics and women’s issues. Her stories have included an investigation that changed the law on crisis pregnancy agencies, a story which changed the ownership of the new national maternity hospital, a series that reformed the way domestic abuse victims are treated by social welfare services and an expose which shut down the government’s strategic communications unit.

Emily Duffy: “Do good, feel good – How helping others helped me”

Emily is a 19 y/o social entrepreneur from Limerick. When Emily was 15 she designed a sleeping bag for homeless people called the Duffily Bag. Since then she has gone on to employ homeless people to make the Duffily bags which are then sold at cost price to charities around Ireland. She is now a Commerce student in UCC on the Quercus Talented Students Programme and her passions include entrepreneurship, homelessness and sleeping.

We are also excited to welcome Stephanie Rainey, a wonderful Irish singer and a talented songwriter. Stephanie will perform her anthem ‘100 Like Me’ in which Stephanie opens up about her battle with self-consciousness. This song has been the unofficial anthem for The Shona Project for the past 2 years, and we are thrilled to have Stephanie perform it live.

Big thanks to our sponsors who have all contributed to making this day happen, and are all super duper sound:

Always, Beta Photography, The Book Centre, Chia Bia, Creative Ireland, Flahavans, Glanbia, Marla Communications, Waterford Area partnership and Q1 Scientific.


Supported By

Our Pro bono Partners

The Shona Project is a company limited by guarantee. Registered charity number: 20206722. Company registration number: 592520.