At WISER’s International Women’s Day Champagne High Tea in March 2024, we celebrated together under the UN theme - Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress! The pinnacle of the WISER IWD 2024 event was launching a key part of our graphic identity which will forever be part of WISER’s founding story, most importantly because it was created by our members.

Above (left) is the electronic image adapted from the artwork (right) designed by Indigenous artist Leah Cummins of Bunya Designs, and completed by 100 WISERs at our Collaborative Paint N Sip event generously hosted by global mining services company and WISER Platinum Partner Thiess on 1st of February 2024. Thiess very much liked the look of the completed artwork hanging in their South Brisbane headquarters and made a generous offer to keep it. These funds have been allocated to Women on Boards Premium Memberships for WISER Members.

Leah Cummins, proud Mayi woman from NW Queensland, entitled the piece, THE FUTURE WE CREATE. Leah took our mission and our goals and put them into this unique design with love and harmony. Then, while sipping champagne, chatting and laughing, 100 of us made our mark on this stunning canvas. Leah is also an active member of IWIMRA (Indigenous Women in Mining and Resources Australia) and has formerly held geotechnical roles at companies such as Origin Energy and Ivanhoe Mines. She firmly sees herself as a founding WISER member and has generously offered the Acknowledgement of Country at several WISER events. This, and her support in developing our own WISER Acknowledgement of Country, mean so much to the WISER Committee and Members. This is Leah’s message which sits with the artwork hanging on Thiess’ walls:

This artwork is inspired by WISER and its commitment to connecting women in the industry to each other. In the centre is WISER with the people who go above and beyond to bring the network together. The journey lines outwards are the connections pathways WISER makes, long lasting connections to women around Australia. The communities of women from different industries are represented by the community symbol with people sitting around with one another. Through this story are meeting places with people. We travel far and wide to meet with each other and share stories helping build each other up and encourage one another. The kangaroo footprints represent always moving forward and never backwards. The mountains represent the endurance of women and the challenges they face but overcome with determination and resilience. I want to share this with love and harmony. Leah Cummins, Bunya Designs. 1 Feb 2024