Kimberley Girl strutting ahead next month

It is the region’s fastest growing self-development program that has produced countless success stories and pushed young Indigenous ladies to reach for the stars — and COVID-19 was not about to get in its way. Kimberley Girl is strutting ahead in 2020 and is set to be bolstered by the addition of a live-streamed catwalk finale and new leadership courses that will help set its participants up for life. The renowned program uses modelling as a tool to attract Aboriginal women between 16 and 25, who then take part in a series of vital life skill workshops focusing on leadership, overcoming adversity, health, social skills, workplace readiness, confidence, public speaking and etiquette. The 24 brave beauties from across the region who put their hands up will be assessed on their participation in the various courses, as well as their performance at a pageant in front of the public to end the week, with the top 10 going through to the final. This year’s Kimberley Girl will be crowned at the catwalk final the following week, which will run alongside the end of the Pilbara Girl contest. Both public events will be live-streamed across social media this year because of a 50 per cent capacity coronavirus restriction. New additions to the workshop will include a Certificate II in leadership for the young ladies in a bid to produce more long-term outcomes for the Indigenous role models. Kimberley Girl has seen former participants like Shania Hunter and Eugina George go on to strut at the Perth Fashion Festival, with others such as Broome’s Bianca Graham and 2017 winner Montana Ah Won, from Kununurra, sit at high-level meetings with politicians about key social issues in the region. Last year’s winner Brianna Ozies, pictured, said the program was an amazing platform to share her story and prepare her for the future. “This year I’ve had some up and downs and I feel like Kimberley Girl gave me the tools to deal with these moments,” she said.