Women hope to inspire and be inspired at Regina leadership forum

For the 10th year, hundreds of people gathered to listen to speakers with stories to tell and messages to deliver at the University of Regina’s Inspiring Leadership Forum.

This year’s speakers were Elizabeth Smart, Cheryl Strayed and Jann Arden.

Smart is a familiar face to some for a tragic reason: She was abducted from her home in Utah at the age of 14, then kept and abused by her captors for nine months before being rescued.

She’s an advocate now for victims and their families.

Smart talked at the forum about what happened to her, but also about sexual abuse victims and how they need to be supported and given a voice.

“I want them to know that they’re not alone and that this is not their fault, this should never have happened, but that you can go on, that it doesn’t need to define you,” Smart said.

More generally, Smart said she hopes people take from her talk that we all have hard times in life but that we can overcome them and move forward.

Smart said that issues of sexual abuse have held women back and that talking about them is important.

Forums such as the U of R event are important, according to Smart, because everyone deserves to be empowered, and they can spread information to a group of people who really care.

Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed echoed the importance of such events.

Strayed is the author of the bestselling book “Wild,” which tells the story of her solo journey along the Pacific Crest Trail.

Inspiration and reflection are why Strayed feels events like the U of R’s are important for people.

She said it gives them a chance in a busy world to reflect on their lives and themselves, and it gives them a chance to be inspired.

“So much of what I said really comes back to that truth that in order to be a good leader you have to be a good human, and what you really need to do is to find that story within yourself that tells you you can or you will, instead of I can’t or I’m afraid,” she said.

Strayed’s story doesn’t always put her in the best light, but she said showing people the real you is when you really connect with them.

Strayed praised the forum, saying that she went there to inspire, but after listening to the other speakers, would leave inspired as well.

Ten years

Wednesday was the 10th anniversary of the Inspiring Leadership Forum.

U of R President and Vice-Chancellor Vianne Timmons said the event sold out, and sold out early, which tells her how hungry people are for these kinds of conversations.

“I have goosebumps and my stomach is all turning because the stories that you hear from these women and the resilience and the courage that they’ve shown in their lives I think is so inspiring for everyone in the room,” Timmons said.

Timmons said she’s proud of the forum and how popular it’s become, but she’s also grateful for those who’ve supported it and her along the way.

“There are a lot of first-time attendees here, but there are also a lot that have been here almost every year,” she said. “So I think what I really see is a community of women in the city of Regina that lift each other up.”

This year, Timmons said the messages she’d heard from the speakers were about resilience — how resilient women are and how important it is to recognize that.

Timmons also said it’s important to keep the conversation around that going, and she said there will be an 11th forum to make sure the conversation continues.

Two of the three keynote speakers for 2020 were announced Wednesday: Dawn Smith, who will speak about leaving a religious cult, and Caitlyn Jenner, who will speak about her journey to transition into a woman.