Search for next star

A previous Pilbara Girl winner has urged Indigenous girls to apply for the leadership program as the search for the next beauty begins. Aboriginal women aged 16 to 25 are being urged to apply for Goolarri Media’s 2020 Pilbara Girl which will see them undergo a series of personal development workshops before getting glammed up and strutting on the catwalk for the big finale. The 2018 winner Verinia Bin Saad, pictured, said the program taught her valuable life skills and opened up a wealth of employment opportunities within the community. “I grew a lot of confidence from being in it. It lets yourself realise that there is more to beauty rather than just your looks,” she said. “Join and do it for yourself, because you will gain a lot from it and you will learn more about yourself than you would realise. “It taught me so much about life skills that I use on a daily basis now that helps me with my job.” Program founder and GM chief operations officer Kira Fong encouraged young women to take the step and apply, especially given the difficult year the world has had. “It’s just for the girls to be able to step out of their comfort zone and do something different. “Especially now, we need to look after everyone’s mental health and wellbeing so really encourage your friends and daughters and sisters to go into the program,” she said. “It’s all about the experience they get and the reward they get from putting in the effort and coming and having that experience, learning about themselves and learning about what they can do to be successful in the future and have a lot of fun along the way.” Ms Fong said changes were made to this year’s program due to COVID-19. “There will be an event but the event won’t be open to the public, we are planning on live streaming that just so the girls are kept safe and everyone is kept healthy,” she said. “One of the wonderful things is that we managed to get all the formal training online.”