From left: Gail Giordani (ZEISS), Jacque Katsieris (ProOptics), and Angelina Chee (De Rigo).

The inaugural Women with Vision Festival has taken place in Melbourne, inspiring women from right across the ophthalmic community to connect, and helping them find more clarity around their strengths, powers, and potential.

Ms Woods kept the show together, reiterating important themes delivered by presenters Clare Desira (Top Five Movement), Cherie Clonan (The Digital Picnic), and Emily Mann (MannPower). Meanwhile, at the back of the room, the not-for-profit organisation, Dangerous Females, printed hundreds of t-shirts and ran a silent auction of industry- donated prizes. A total of AU$7,000 was raised to support victims of domestic violence, along with abundant awareness of this organisation’s contribution to community.

Ms Desira is an award-winning coach and CEO of neuroscience based leadership training organisation, Top Five Movement, and her mission for her interactive session was to give attendees the “chance to actually slow down to go faster”.

The brainchild of Jacque Katsieris (ProOptics) and Lisa Cappuccio (Eyebenefit), Women with Vision attracted well over 200 to The Timberyard in Melbourne’s Docklands on a Sunday morning. And even before the gates to the yard were due to open, there was a sense of energy and excitement among those lined up and ready to celebrate.

She guided attendees on how to reframe negative thoughts and stressors, acknowledging that “when we work in fields that we really care about ... it’s not going to matter how much work you do... There’s always going to be someone else to support and someone needing more help.”

There was nothing clinical about Women with Vision. And there was no tradeshow. And that was the beauty of it. The festival was all about connection and personal development with MC Bundjalung woman, Mindy Woods – the first Aboriginal woman to be awarded a Good Food Guide Hat – kicking things off by stating that “When women are strong, communities are strong. When women connect, something shifts. And when women gather with intention, transformation quickly follows.” And it did.

Introducing the first speaker – Clare Desira – Ms Woods encouraged the women in the room to “get outside your comfort zone... Know that you are in a safe space. Ask questions that you’ve held onto. Give advice that maybe you wish you had received in a younger part of your life. Reach out, listen, and connect in a really genuine way because these connections will last long after today finishes up”.

Ms Desira explored our brain’s natural negative bias, which can lead us to connect through complaining, and think about how we will be happier when our work or personal circumstances eventually change. Although it’s good to be excited about the future, we also need to make the most of now – and one