Last week as Ananya Ravi was sitting at her bedroom desk in O'Connor, she was getting a tour of a nuclear research facility in Geneva.
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The 16-year-old Radford College student was among the recipients of this year's annual Audrey Fagan Young Women's Enrichment Grants.
The ACT government grants, named in honour of the territory's since-deceased chief police officer, award six young women with leadership potential a prize pool of $10,000.
Ananya used her $2000 share to take part in a STEM-focused program, hosted over 10 days online this year by the National Youth Science Forum.
The program started last Tuesday.
"My mum told me that I got given the grant [and] I was really excited," Ananya said.
"I do physics, chemistry and double maths [at school].
"[When I leave,] I definitely want to do something STEM-related."
The grant recipients each intended to use the money for wildly different things; Orli Baumgart wanted to start a hand-dyed artisan wool business and donate the proceeds to support young LGBTIQA+ people, while Tori Scrivener wanted to develop her passion for horse riding and dressage.
Burgmann Anglican School student Lochana Radaliyagoda, 14, wanted to use her $2000 share to publish and market a children's book about gender equality.
She wouldn't give away the title on Sunday, but she said she hoped the book would have a lasting impact.
Lochana said when she found out she had received the grant, she and her mum had "a good cry".
"The first thing that I told my mum when I found out that there was this opportunity ... was that my goal was for one person, one child that I don't know, to read the book and for it to change their mindset," Lochana said.
"I wish for the book to live longer than I do.
"I want it to be something that children can take on [over generations] ... so that everyone has this one thing that they can come back to from a 14-year-old girl who has this burning passion to change Australia."
Lochana said the book would talk about "girls, boys, and everything in between". She said she had been having in-depth discussions with people and watching online videos and documentaries as part of her research.
"[I also read] two books from Julia Gillard, because she wrote ... about women's empowerment and things like that," Lochana said.
"She also had a live stream going on so I watched that as well to get more of an idea of what she thinks on this topic.
"She's one of my idols when it comes to this; she's very passionate about it just like me and I think I got a lot from that, as well as some of her speeches."
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Lochana said the grant required her to spend the $2000 by the end of June, which gave her "quite enough time" to get the book finalised, given she'd been working on it since late last year.
The ACT's Minister for Women, Yvette Berry, said the grants were designed to "increase women's participation in decision-making and leadership roles now and into the future".
"[The recipients are] six incredible young women who will use the funding to pursue their areas of interest," she said in a statement.
"Congratulations to all grant recipients, I look forward to hearing about these young women's achievements."
Cassandra Morgan
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
