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EGA11- seeking more public input from women

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A few of us got to thinking about this after EGA10 and decided specifically to get in early and inspire women especially to make more public contributions to EGA11

At the last EGA conference in Melbourne 2010 it was noted by several people that there was a distinct shortage of presentations by women

EGA is known for creating incredibly welcoming spaces within it's events and it's kinda frustrating to hear about a gender imbalance each year knowing that EGA receive very few submissions from female presenters. To date nearly every submission made by a woman has been incorporated within the event - be it a presentation, workshop or as part of a panel. EGA encourages all women interested in this field to submit proposals for presentations for consideration in the EGA lineup for 2011

Over the years there have been many strong woman behind the scenes keeping this event alive and running. We'd like to see more on stage too There may be reasons some of us choose not to make presentations or run workshops, professional discretion, time considerations etc. But the major one seems to be a fear of public speaking

We’ve suggested to many women that they submit a proposal for next year's conference and the overwhelming response is a squealy" No, I couldn't possibly, it's too scary"

*sigh* It's time we all just got over this and learned to speak up. It's about time we realised just how much our experience, viewpoints and perspective were desperately desired and needed from many attendees, and found a way to overcome the nerves to share our knowledge.

We need to learn to participate in person, and not just blindly hope that someone else will represent us exactly as we see ourselves

Speaking up for your community, speaking loudly and clearly and in a way that audiences can understand is an honour. Representing points of view fairly, even if they're not yours, is empowering

The power you gain through learning to speak up confidently and clearly will enhance other aspects of your life- not just the ethnobotanical ones. As you get older you'll find yourself called to speak at many public occasions. And yes, your first presentation is a little scary.

We don't expect perfection on your first go, so feel free to be passionate about our topic and don't worry about stumbling. Being warm and human we accept each other's occasional failings and verbal stumbles. We all started back from scratch, and even the most informative and experienced presentation sometimes has it's catches. What almost everyone takes away from your presentation is the information and passion you bring to it

We would like to encourage all women in the EGA community to make a submission to present at the conference. If a lecture seems too formal, you might prefer to consider hosting a more informal workshop. In 2011, EGA is also programming a Healing Space, so we encourage female practitioners to consider sharing their passion, knowledge and skill in this domain. We’d also like to especially encourage academics, scientists, students and other professionals to participate, because they’re close to our particular bias, but there is also a strong interest in the esoteric too ;)

Links to EGA-11 applications via:

http://entheo.net/

There is a fair whack of time between now and the next conference. Time to write it up, practice it, time to get over the nerves. For those who would like professional assistance in honing preparing their presentation, there are several people within the EGA community who are keen to work with you - as they too are dearly wanting more female perspectives to be heard.

Or take the opportunity to attend a professional speaking course as a part of your employment or study, or through community organisations such as toastmasters. The support and fellowship at these places is pretty good, even if you don't look like them they do listen and offer constructive insight and feedback as a part of your learning.

Please make the most of this fantastic opportunity to represent your own (or someone else's ) viewpoints and experiences. You'll be facing an audience of friends, peers, colleagues. EGA is the *best* possible environment to foster these skills. It gets less scary each time, trust me. It won't be the scariest thing you'll ever do if you're planning on having an interesting life

See you at EGA! We'll be cheering you on as you step up to the podium :D

cheers

Caz 2.0

Miss Guidance

Darklight

Ronny Simulacrum

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I can’t really offer any inspiring words. But I would like to support what Darklight is talking about. In the short time I have been involved with the ethno community it has always seemed to be male dominated demographic. All the groups meets I have been too have almost exclusively young men. I have also heard some women say they feel intimidated by how ‘male’ the meets are. (!)

The more people I meet online the more females I meet who are interested in the ethno stuff and have lots to offer the community.

Just letting you know ( & I’m sure I’m not alone) any women thinking about submitting a proposal to the EGA talks would have support because 1: you would be braver than most and presenting to an audience! and 2: your doing it in a community where women are under represented ( & i don’t know why that is)

I would feel more comfortable & we would all be better off with a more accurate representation of women participating in the community.

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ur not a girl WT SHAAAADDDAAAAP~!:P

Edited by incognito

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ur not a girl WT SHAAAADDDAAAAP~!:P

 

Ha! true! , I'm not, but I had you thinking I was for a while... :P

regardless on my gender - I would still feel more comfortable with a more accurate representation of the ethno community. :)

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*hides gender* :P

I can highly recommend toastmasters as a great place to start. Without the practice there I doubt I would have been confident enough to present at last year's EGA. To anyone thinking about putting a presentation together: do it! Best experience ever :D

Rohan

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I can highly recommend toastmasters as a great place to start. Without the practice there I doubt I would have been confident enough to present at last year's EGA.

yep, toastmasters is great for dealing with public speaking phobia. 20mg propranolol with moderate-high doses of valium are better.

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short term anyways ;)

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Yup, beta blockers kick ass for public speaking, don't know how I got through Uni without them...would have made life so much easier and possibly higher grades. Oh well. Docs don't seem to have an issue handing them out for this reason so long as no asthma or heart issues.

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