Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council demonstrated its commitment to celebrating women’s achievements and supporting gender equality when it hosted a special event for local schools at Craigavon Civic and Conference Centre on Tuesday 11 March 2025 to mark International Women’s Day.
This event, which highlighted the remarkable achievements of women in leadership and entrepreneurial roles, aimed to empower and inspire young minds.
Around 140 pupils from Banbridge High School, Lismore College, Craigavon Senior High, City of Armagh High School, St Patrick’s High School Keady, St Ronan’s College, Brownlow Integrated College, and Royal School Armagh heard from an exciting line-up of speakers.
They included Lord Mayor Councillor Sarah Duffy, Council Deputy Chief Executive Charlene Stoops, and international musician/motivational coach Amanda St John.
Councillor Duffy is the youngest female elected representative to serve as Lord Mayor of ABC Borough. She has fully embraced her role as the Council’s Diversity Ambassador and is committed to championing positive behaviour towards women.
With a distinguished career spanning over 20 years in the public sector, Council Deputy Chief Executive Charlene Stoops has a wealth of experience in leading strategic planning projects, performance management and service transformation. She previously held the senior roles in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust and was Director of Performance, Planning and Informatics at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust before joining the Council.
Singer-songwriter Amanda St John has enjoyed a successful music career having produced two albums. She only committed to her music career in her mid-30’s after a near death experience inspired her to reassess her life and finally follow her dreams. She is now a well-established motivational coach and is enthusiastic about inspiring others to work towards their dream life and live with purpose.
These inspiring role models spoke very openly, each sharing their journeys and experiences and providing insights into how they have championed inclusion as well as overcome challenges in their professional and personal lives.
They all underlined the importance of women supporting one another to believe in themselves so that they have the courage to embrace all opportunities in life.
Local entrepreneur Lauren Toal, who runs her own brand and marketing consultancy, hosted the event. During the morning session, the young audience completed a personal goal-setting exercise, performed on stage with Amanda St John and took part in a panel discussion.
Speaking after the event, Lord Mayor Councillor Sarah Duffy said:
“It was great to see the collective spirit of the young women who came together to celebrate International Women’s Day. As the next generation, they have a key role to play in advancing gender equality and championing true inclusion.
Today’s event focused on learning from and inspiring each other and most importantly empowering these young ladies to thrive, succeed and become positive role models in their own right.”
For more information on International Women’s Day and this year’s theme of ‘Accelerate Action’ visit internationalwomensday.com
