Women in Development Network – South Australia

There is an active group of women working in aid & development in South Australia. The group meets quarterly.

As Adelaide is a small city, with few NGO or Managing Contractor offices, Women in Development – SA is is a small group with personal connections so operates differently from WiAD in the the major cities which have a much wider remit and number of people attending meetings.

If you are interested in attending, please email us and we will connect you to a convenor.

Who are we?

We are women engaged in the international aid and development sector. We work from a base in South Australia.

Why do we meet?

We recognise that the nature of development and humanitarian work is changing rapidly and that our respective work practices must - and are already - changing. We assist each other in responding to the challenges that can arise when working remotely and adapting to change. Importantly, we are interested to learn from and support each other as peers.

When do we meet?

We meet quarterly, that is, once per season (spring, summer, autumn and winter).

Where do we meet?

Our preference is to meet in private spaces within public domains. This allows us to have private conversations as a group while avoiding the generation of obligations that may distract us (e.g. the obligation to stay, leave, repay a host, ensure the comfort of a host, etc).

What principles do we follow?

We follow some principles for effective networking as follows:

  1. We recognise that trust builds connection. A network it is not about the quantity of people but the quality of connections. The currency of connections is trust and we each commit to being trustworthy for our peers. Trust-building involves consistent communication, reliability, and a mutual understanding of goals and intentions. When we trust that our peers do not want to cause us harm but rather want the best for us, we feel confident to open up and share what moves us.

  2. We bring our passion. Networking is not just about exchanging business cards; it’s about sharing what moves us. When we express our emotions about a topic, we naturally attract people with similar interests. This principle emphasises the power of enthusiasm and genuine interest in connecting with others, as humans. Passion acts as a beacon, drawing people towards us and expressing our values.

  3. We keep each other safe. We recognise that we may be entrusted with personal information and we commit to keeping that information confidential. Personal stories that are shared at events are not shared beyond the network.

  4. We facilitate connections and collaborations outside meetings. We actively look for opportunities to expand our collaboration and we follow these up outside our regular quarterly meetings, whenever appropriate.

  5. We contribute according to our abilities. We share the ownership of the network and we recognise that all of us can play a part in forming and shaping a network. We accept responsibility for organising meetings and otherwise contributing positively to the network, in accordance with our ability (time, bandwidth, etc).

How does it work?

Our meetings usually involve a seated dinner and reflective group conversation. The organiser may choose to pose some questions for group discussion. There are no guest speakers or professional development priorities, except to the extent that we always learn from being reflective together.

To enable us to deliver on the ability to facilitate connections and collaborations outside meetings (principle 4), our invitations explicitly make visible our respective email addresses. We choose to be aware of how to contact others and be contacted by others.

What about Women in Aid and Development? Isn’t there already a group for this?

Women in Aid & Development (WiAD) is an Australian-based membership organisation for all women who work in, or aspire to work in, the international aid, development and humanitarian sectors. Currently, there are city leaders convening in-person meetings in Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney. There are also a range of online events available - information is available via LinkedIn, Facebook and the website and a mentoring program and workshops are offered.

Women in Development – SA is connected to and very supportive of the work of WiAD. This support is mutual; WiAD promotes our Adelaide events and we circulate invitations to WiAD online events or to participate in mentoring opportunities. We do not provide contact details or email addresses to WiAD. However, SA members who choose to provide their email addresses to WiAD directly will receive newsletters and invitations to WiAD events.