Name: Meg Cummins
Role/Position in Scouts: Youth Commissioner
How did you get involved in Scouting?
I started scouts when I was 7, my best friend at Primary School went to the local scout group but there weren’t any local joey mobs so I started as a Cub at 1st Keiraville Scout Group.
What is your favourite thing about Scouting?
I’ve always said; in Scouts you don’t make friends, you make a family and you build a community. This plays a huge part in how we grow and it is critical to a healthy childhood. My Scouting family has planned, prepared for and spent days in the middle of the bush together, dangled each other off the edge of waterfalls and supported each other’s serious projects and crazy ideas. We have spent hours walking the local beaches, picking up rubbish, and we have worked together to run ‘open days’ and invite our local refugees into Scouting, we have donated blood together and have worked to raise funds for those in need. We support each other through highs and lows.
What do kids learn from Scouts that is hard to learn elsewhere?
Through Scouting, kids are able to dream big. They become problem solvers armed with an incredible network of people who support them to create a better world. Scouting provides a platform to be the voice for those who do not have one and empowers our young people to become active change creators.
How does Scouting uplift and empower women and girls?
Scouting uplifts and empowers women and girls through providing equal opportunities for girls and boy from the age of 5. Scouting proves that you don’t need to be a boy to abseil down a cliff, to lead a group of fellow scouts on a 40km hike, to do remote first aid or to make a difference in the world. Scouting empowers girls of all ages to be a leader, to work as a team and to understand their worth. Scouting proved to me that I was just as capable as any boy at being an independent, strong and skilled young woman and it gave me other incredibly inspiring women as leaders for me to follow in the footsteps of.
What does the International day of Women and Girls mean to you?
International day of Women and Girls means a lot to me as an Engineer.
Women only make up 16% of Australia’s STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering and Maths) field, so it’s more important than ever to be encouraging girls and women into these fields. Most things we interact with in our daily lives have been created or influenced by STEM. If we are limited to males solely creating and inventing, we produce ideas that are only representing half of the population, we end up with products that do not fit/ suit women and we are only harnessing half our potential!
International women’s day is about encouraging a society where girls and boys alike are given equal opportunity and are encouraged to pursue their dreams.
Let’s thank the women who have helped shape us and our world and continue to build a society that fosters the creation of strong, empowered women.
