08/02/10
Want to know what inspires Welsh women? There's an app for that!
Chwarae Teg, the charity championing women's economic development, is to launch an innovative free iPhone application to enable women across Wales share their inspirations.
The ‘app' is part of a major new social media campaign designed to get Welsh women talking about the things that inspire them in their everyday lives.
The ‘Womenspire' app, available from International Women's Day (March 8th) onwards, marks the first time a Welsh organisation has used an iPhone application to engage with women across Wales.
The ‘app' - available to download from the iTunes store - has been developed which allows women to access hundreds of inspirational quotes from famous women past and present, from Marilyn Monroe to Mo Mowlam, and to post their own stories of inspiration onto a dedicated website at the touch of a button.
The campaign will also use Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In and a dedicated website to reach women of all ages and backgrounds to build a picture of what inspires them in life, whether a special location, person, poem, song or piece of art.
‘Womenspire' has been designed to raise awareness of Chwarae Teg's £12.5m European Social Fund and Welsh Assembly Government-funded Agile Nation project, which addresses gender inequality in employment and career progression by up-skilling women and supporting employers to implement flexible working measures.
Women will be able to visit the Facebook and Twitter pages to upload pictures to share - and read about - what inspires women across Wales.
Hayley Dunne of Chwarae Teg said in an increasingly fast-paced world, it was important to find innovative ways of connecting with the women they want to engage with:
"You can get an ‘app' for everything from ordering pizza to learning Spanish, and in a busy world where we are all bombarded with information everywhere we turn, we think it's important that we use all the available channels to connect with women. Over three billion apps have been downloaded in the last 18 months so it's clear that this is a great way of communicating with people."
Sandra Busby, Managing Director of the Welsh Contact Centre Forum, has downloaded a preview version of the ‘Womenspire' application to her iPhone. She said:
"There are times when you're on the train or waiting for an appointment when it's nice to take stock and read inspirational quotes from other women who have made it in their chosen fields. It's a really good motivator and one that's easy and free! I think launching an iPhone app is a really good way of reaching busy working women and I think the way you can use the app to share the things that inspire you personally will be popular with lots of women."
Hayley Dunne continued:
"All of us draw inspiration from a vast array of different sources, including people, places and personal experiences and we want to start a nationwide conversation about this wealth of inspiration around us. We want to start the biggest ever conversation about the things that inspire women in Wales and we are really looking forward to getting a picture of the things that motivate them"
To get involved with Womenspire women can log on to www.agilenation.co.uk.
