Charlotte Vowden turns International Women’s Day into an event
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to recognise female achievement (writes Guild member Charlotte Vowden). As a writer and journalist, I’m in the privileged position to use my voice and platforms to support women in the automotive space and showcase their accomplishments, but this year I decided to do more. I decided to organise an event.
As a celebration of female achievement, I felt it important to make it open to all. This guaranteed inclusivity and a varied demographic. Making it interactive and relaxed, as well as educational, informative and representative of the ways in which cars can inspire, I arranged the following:
- Master a new skill with TV’s classic car trimmer Freya Reid. People could watch demonstrations as well as make their own keyring using cut-offs from Freya’s workshop
- Got something to say? Put your words on canvas with Fine Art student Lily Crabtree, whose work focuses on her love of classic cars. Lily invited people to share their stories and thoughts by writing them on a canvas which became part of her final degree show. It was fabulous to see women who might not be confident enough to vocalise their experiences do so in a different medium
- Curious about classic EVs? Visitors were able to weigh up the pros and cons, and take a closer look at a classic that’s already undergone the switch, with Vic Crofts from Electrogenic
- Test drives were on offer in vehicles provided by The Little Car Company
- Artisan baker IcedMaiden sold a selection of car-themed cakes and treats People were encouraged to bring their classics and be part of an informal car show.
The finale of the event comprised a heart-to-heart with the world’s first female tetraplegic racing driver, Nathalie McGloin. Having broken her neck in a car crash when she was 16, Nathalie is completely paralysed from the chest down yet she competes, and wins, against able-bodied men. Some of the women who have benefitted from Nathalie’s charity, Spinal Track, also joined us on stage for a panel discussion.
A visual snapshot of the event can be found here. Ticketed at a price of £10 with under 16s free, it was a sell-out. Half of the ticket sales were donated to Nathalie’s charity, Spinal Trick, and donations were also collected on the day. Tania Brown, VSCC club secretary matched the total raised, so in all, the event raised £1024.
Classic car insurer Hagerty allowed me to use its clubhouse – the event was held under the ‘Hagerty Hangout’ banner and the team were instrumental in helping with logistics, covering their costs from the remaining half of the profits from ticket sales. Everyone involved, including myself, volunteered their time, expertise and effort to make this event happen. There is only one of me, but this event happened because on that day, there was an us.
