Young women with leadership potential on the Fleurieu Peninsula are encouraged to apply for Country to Canberra Leadership Competition.

The competition, which opens today (Monday 20 July) empowers girls and young women living in rural and regional areas with leadership training and an all expenses paid ‘Power Trip’ to the nation’s capital to learn from political heavyweights, many of them women.

The winners are also supported with a mentor for a six-month period to help them identify and achieve their own goals.

Established by Hannah Wandel, originally from Blyth in South Australia’s Mid North, Country to Canberra aims to support more regional and rural Australian women into leadership positions.

Encounter Bay girl Abi Archbold was one of the 2018 Leadership Competition winners.

She entered the Country to Canberra Leadership Competition because she saw it as an incredible opportunity.

“I have always been interested in learning of the inner workings of the country, and the opportunity to meet inspirational female leaders sounded extremely rewarding,” she says.

To secure her place in the program, she made a short film that looked at the topic: Life is a roadtrip with twists and turns. How can we support one another to navigate the road to gender equality?

As part of her prize, Abi was teamed up with mentor Brooke DuBois, a former journalist and editor for Victor Harbor’s The Times newspaper, who is now a freelance writer and editor contributing to the Fleurieu App.

Brooke says, “the most valuable aspect of the Mentorship Program was being able to be a small part of a very promising young woman's life and hopefully contribute in some way to her inevitable academic and life success".

“I believe the sessions gave my mentee an opportunity to check in and debrief with someone objective to her situation; to share how she's going and receive extra support and advice to help her continue on her fantastic trajectory.”

For the 2020 competition, entrants are being asked to submit a 400 to 600-word written response or a 3-4 minute video responding to the theme: LIFTING US UP – How can women and girls empower each other and their communities in times of uncertainty and change?

Entries open today, Monday 20 July, and close on 4 September.

Visit http://countrytocanberra.com.au/leadership-competition/ for more information.