In 2016 Caitlin Figueiredo was named one of the ‘100 Women of Influence’ by the Australian Financial Review & Westpac, taking out the award in the category of Young Leader. Caitlin is driven by her passion to empower individuals with the goal of ending social injustice within her lifetime. Caitlin believes everyone should be entitled to the same opportunities without discriminating against ones background or beliefs.
“Everything I do is for the purpose of creating an equal and fair world.”
Caitlin is currently involved with a number of national and international organisations, sharing her experiences of being a ‘passionate change maker’ with the students at Canberra Altitude Day.
What are you the most passionate about?
Supporting young people to achieve their dreams and to achieve gender equality in my lifetime.
What action are you taking to influence change in that area?
I am working with a number of national and international organisations to ensure action is taken on a number of different levels. I also run my own arts for peace initiative which provides opportunities for communities to come together, learn about their rights and express themselves through art. We then take that artwork to Australia, in order to foster unbiased dialogue and to create intercultural peace.
What is the greatest lesson you have learnt on your journey so far?
I’ve learnt that I should not judge myself so harshly that I self-sabotage my journey. Nobody is perfect, it is our differences that make us unique and strong. By owning our uniqueness, we can transform them into new opportunities to help ourselves and our communities. This transforms us from being awesome – into being flawsome.
Your top piece of advice for Year 9 students?
Never let your self-doubt or other people’s opinions stop you from achieving your dreams. Because everyone can achieve greatness, the first step is to believe in yourself that it is possible – create your vision, believe in it and then work towards it.