A LOCAL community project is putting on a celebration to showcase the brave and spirited women who have made an impact on York over the last century.

Herstory York will be performing a presentation at the library, York Explore, next Saturday, December 15 to help ensure that the stories of influential women are told, celebrated and known to more people throughout the city.

The talk will be opened by York Central MP, Rachael Maskell, who will discuss the role women can play in democracy. The campaign will also be producing a website and a publication to highlight what York women have done and how they have effected change in the city.

Rachael Maskell said: “We want the people of York to understand what women have done and what they can do.”

The campaign is being funded by the Government Equalities Office Women Vote Centenary Grant Scheme however, the original idea came from local solicitor Kate Hignett who had the idea to hold a York Women’s Conference in 2018.

Several project volunteers, including Pauline Swan, Liz Tune and Rachel Kate, will be giving talks and presenting their research on several different biographies.

Event organiser Jocelyn Hayes said: “We are keen to help put the history of women right by highlighting the impact that so many women made in the city. We are a group of 10 women who have researched notable women from 1918 to 2018. One discussion will be on Elizabeth Hartley who had the largest collection of Roman antiques in the north of England. She also masterminded a series of exhibitions from the Viking Kingdom of York to Constantine the Great.”