Overview of Project Friedman
Project Friedman is a program that provides professional public speaking coaching and support for women in Australia who work in the security industry and want to speak at a security conference for the first time. The program also provides assistance on a best-efforts basis to secure a conference speaking slot for successful participants and to connect participants to mentors in relation to their subject matter area (e.g., the presentation content).
This is a national program in Australia, and we are particularly interested in applications from women across:
- Regional and remote areas of Australia.
- Women of all abilities.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women.
- Women of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
This program is suitable for women who have been in a security role for 3+ years and desire to make more impactful presentations. Please note this is only available to Women who have never presented at a Security Conference before.
Program Aim
Women Speak Cyber was born in 2017 to raise awareness and ensure equal representation of gender in the voices of the cybersecurity industry.
This program is designed to bring women within the cybersecurity industry together in a supportive environment to help develop their public speaking skills to deliver impactful and powerful presentations. Participants will gain invaluable skills, giving them the confidence to stand on a stage in front of their peers and demonstrate their expertise or talk about their experiences. This will ultimately give them greater confidence, enable them to further progress their profile within the industry, and potentially attract more opportunities.
Program Outcomes
- Develop highly engaging and relatable presentations
- Learn how to craft presentations to a range of audiences confidently
- Learn the skills needed to present confidently and with purpose
- Presentation skills will be applicable to all parts of work life and can be applied to meetings, workshops, strategic planning, and projects, etc. to audiences of any level
Program Structure
- 1 full day initial training session (2 days offered for participants to select face-to-face (F2F) Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne TBC or online)
- 3 individual online sessions of 45 -60 minutes (develop and rehearse content and speech as it develops, plan and test slides, time presentation)
- 1 final presentation group rehearsal session online or F2F (2 x half day set aside for 1 x F2F, 1 x online) attendees select the suitable session and must be present for a full half-day session
- 1 final online group check-in before the conference event
- Final presentations - Conference event and date to be determined
Cost (2024)
AWSN Members: $250 + GST (The cost for 2025 is TBD)
Non-Members: $250 + GST
Places available: TBD
Eligibility
- You must be 18 years of age
- You must be a woman or identify as a woman
- You must reside in Australia
- You must not have been a previous recipient of Project Friedman
- You must not have presented at a security conference before
- You must have approval from your workplace (if applicable) to attend training sessions that occur during the workday and to attend and present in person at a conference (TBD)
Program Dates
2025 dates to be announced
Expression of Interest Process
Please complete an Expression of Interest for this program and when the application phase opens, we will notify you through the email you provide on the EoI form.
Application Process
- When applications open for this program, AWSN will notify you through the email you provided on the Express of Interest Form. We will link you to the application form.
- You will need to complete an application and submit it bythe closing date (TBD).
- Your application will be assessed by a selection committee for eligibility.
- Eligible Applicants will be shortlisted based on the content of their personal statement.
- Shortlisted candidates will be required to attend a short online interview.
- Shortlisted candidates will be informed of the results.
Program Provider
The Project Friedman Program is provided by AWSN, and managed by Louisa Partridge and Louisa Vogelenzang.
History
Project Friedman is named after Elizabeth Friedman, an American Cryptographer and code breaker who helped crack the code of spies during World War II.
Founded by cybersecurity veterans Louisa Partridge and Louisa Vogelenzang, Women Speak Cyber started as a grassroots movement in 2017, progressing to an officially formed social enterprise in 2020 through sponsorship from the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).
In April 2023, Women Speak Cyber merged their programs under AWSN.
Under this new banner at AWSN, Women Speak Cyber's goal continues to be to raise awareness and ensure equal representation of gender in the voices of the cybersecurity industry.
Since 2017, Women Speak Cyber programs have delivered the following:
- Project Friedman, founded in partnership with AWSN and Public Speaking Coach Emily Edgeley, which in the first year coached nine women who presented for the first time – with each woman continuing to
present again at industry events, TED talks or internationally with their jobs. Project Friedman was named a finalist in the 2020 Women in Security Awards In 2020-2021 a further 17x 1st time speakers were coached through to their first conference talk - by public speaking coaches Emily Edgeley and Catherine McGrath.
- a 12 part podcast series 'Women Speak Cyber', featuring interviews with women at various stages in their public speaking journey, with the goal to inspire more women speakers in cybersecurity https://omny.fm/shows/women-speak-cyber
- a Presenter Polish program, supporting existing women speakers wanting to take their talks to the 'next level'
