Three Katherine woman have made the semi finals of NT Young Achiever awards.
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A fashion designer, a health advocate and an equal rights defender have progressed to the next round of judging.
The next round of judging, which determines the finalists, will take place on February 15, so stay tuned for the results.
Winners will be announced on April 13.
Phoebe Hooper
Phoebe Hooper is Katherine’s Young Citizen of the Year, and now she is up for an NT Young Achiever award.
“Phoebe Hooper is an incredibly inspiring individual who gently leads the community into awareness and inclusion for all young people, and particularly for the LGBTQIA+ community,” his nominator Claire Brown said.
“Phoebe balances a busy life as a senior student, works part time, performs in a band, represents the 2017 Youth Round Table, and has founded a non-profit organisation – Keep Talking NT.
“Keep Talking delivers a suite of workshops for the community, and coordinated the inaugural Katherine Rural Pride Festival,” she said.
“Phoebe is confident, well respected, dedicated and passionate.Phoebe’s commitment to the Katherine community should be recognised and applauded.”
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Maggie McGowan
Fashion designer Maggie McGowan has dedicated her career to celebrating Aboriginal culture through clothing.
“I left my job as a lawyer at NAAJA in order to co-found Magpie Goose, which aims to bring bright bold Top End prints to the world, while creating interesting enterprise learning and employment opportunities for people in remote NT,” Ms McGowan said.
“I’m also committed to creating opportunities for others within the fashion industry, and have developed ‘Fashion Futures’, a program to support young women in Katherine to explore pathways into the industry.
“I am inspired by textiles being produced by Aboriginal artists from remote Australia. I find the stories behind these designs compelling, and they help me to deepen my connection to the NT, and the people who have called it home for thousands of years.
“Magpie Goose as a brand, honours Aboriginal culture and stories, and shares these with a broader audience through the medium of fashion, so that everyone’s lives may be enriched.
“The clothes become the platform for the artists to be recognised and celebrated.
Ms McGowan said Magpie Goose is committed to building awareness and support for Indigenous textiles more broadly, so that the success of Magpie Goose feeds the art centres and the remote Aboriginal arts industry.
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Kenya McAdam-Roberts
After suffering a heart attack at just 15-years-old, Kenya McAdam-Roberts became a strong local advocate for health promotion.
“I am a young Indigenous woman living with rheumatic heart disease. I speak out about my experiences to support other young women, to educate health professionals and to raise awareness,” Ms McAdam-Roberts said.
“I ended up with rheumatic heart disease because my acute rheumatic fever was not diagnosed.
“We went to the clinic many times, my mum knew there was something wrong,” she said.
“The advocacy work that my Mum did after my misdiagnosis changed the way the clinics screen for acute rheumatic fever and makes sure people get preventative penicillin so this doesn’t lead to rheumatic heart disease.”
Ms McAdam-Roberts recently directed a health promotion short film about rheumatic heart disease in pregnancy, called “Sharing a Heartbeat”.
“For the Indigenous community, the people who live with rheumatic heart disease, what I do is take the complicated medical messages about rheumatic heart disease and make it understandable,” Ms McAdam-Roberts said.
“The work I do now in my local community is to make sure people are aware of the symptoms of acute rheumatic fever and make sure health professionals listen to their patients.”
