Ryde Women's Day

Ryde Women’s Day was first organised to offer a wide range of taster workshops at low cost in Ryde. It is held at Ryde High School and links with the Women’s Day held at the Isle of Wight College and ensures socially isolated women in Ryde can access a similar event. The taster sessions appeal to those who may not have the confidence to sign up for a more structured course. It is open to women aged 12+.

The way that the event is structured ensures that it is a community event, offering publicity to small local businesses to ensure that as many different parts of the community can benefit from the day.

With six Ryde wards out of a total of eight included in the nation’s top 20% most deprived, it is clear that opportunities in Ryde have been limited. Therefore Ryde Women’s Day was set up with a range of criteria in place to help those who were deemed to need it most. These were:

• Keep costs as low as possible to encourage the target audience to access the event.
• Promotion of the event amongst toddler groups will enable potential participants to network with their peers, thereby reducing isolation.
• The provision of a crèche will enable single parents to participate.
• The planning team are a similar age to the target group and are therefore in a position to make relevant decisions which will encourage the right people to attend.

The event had grown quickly over the previous two years and Single Regeneration Budget VI funding was required to enable the Day to continue to support the socially excluded.

In 2003 the Day has become a Weekend, with Ryde High School hosting the event on March 15th and 16th. There were approximately 40 courses on offer included Shiatsu, Dealing with Stress, IT, Candle Rolling, Rugby, Crime Writing and Encaustic Art. Each course lasted one and a half hours and cost only £2.50 (or £6 for 3).