We caught up with Alexia Hilbertidou to find out all about her latest achievement – receiving the Queens Young Leader Award!

Recently you received a Queens Young Leaders Award – tell us, how were you put forward for this award, and what does receiving the award entail?
I received a Queen’s Young Leaders Award for Services to the Commonwealth. This was presented by her Majesty, The Queen at Buckingham Palace at an Award Ceremony on Tuesday 26th of June. I am an Eisenhower Youth Fellow and my mentor from that Fellowship, Bernadine Vester, supported my nomination. Over the past four years, there has been over 20,000 nominations for the Queen’s Young Leader Programme from all 53 Commonwealth Countries. I was one of 60 Young Leaders who received the Queen’s Young Leader Award for 2018. As part of the programme, I received bespoke training, mentoring and networking opportunities, and take part in a 12 day residential programme in London and Cambridge. I will also complete a 12 month Leadership for Change distance learning course created by the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education.

As only 1 of 2 New Zealanders, and the youngest recipient, what did this recognition mean to you?
New Zealand was the first country in the world for women to get the vote and we need to lead the way in gender equality. This award is recognition of the support from the Royal Family for a future where women are paid the same and valued as much as men. It is recognition that the work of GirlBoss to encourage women into STEM, entrepreneurship and higher leadership will be crucial in ensuring that women thrive in the future of work. To empower a woman is to empower her children, her family and her community. It is the smartest investment we can make. My hope is that in New Zealand and in the world both men and women will have the freedom and possibility to decide who they are. As the youngest recipient of the Award and through conversations with the other Queen’s Young Leaders I realised that in New Zealand, young people are not constrained by the ageism which is prevalent in other countries. For young people in New Zealand there is no better time than now to get out there and create positive change in their communities. At GirlBoss New Zealand, we show young women that you are never to young to create change and that you do not need to reach a certain milestone, you do not need to wait until you finish high school, you do not need to wait until you get a degree, before you can go out there and make a substantial difference in your community.

The ceremony was held at Buckingham Palace by Her Majesty The Queen? Can you give us a bit of an insight in to the day?
It was a very formal occasion. The inside of Buckingham Palace is truly unlike anywhere else in the world. It is so surreal. It is so beautiful and grand but you have a lingering sense of deja vu because many of the rooms you have seen in photos, news articles and movies. When I met the Queen we talked about how I was finding the programme, my work at GirlBoss New Zealand and what inspired me to start GirlBoss New Zealand. I said to the Queen that currently in the NZX 50, there are more CEOs named John than CEOs who are women and that I am striving to change that. The Queen chuckled at the John fact and said I was doing very good work. People came up to me afterwards and asked 'how did you make the Queen laugh?' I was one of only five leaders to be invited for a private meeting with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the White Drawing Room. Speaking to the royal newlyweds about their upcoming trip to New Zealand, Prince Harry expressed interest in seeing GirlBoss New Zealand at work. I told Prince Harry that 2% of our CEOs on the NZX 50 are women. He was shocked and exclaimed 2%! Really? That needs to change! I jokingly asked if I could quote him on that, and he said “Hey! Don't blame me!” He was also very interested in the after party, and asked whether there would be alcohol and ping pong. As expected, he was very knowledgeable about the night life in London. Meghan Markle was very positive and expressed how much she loved New Zealand.

Was there anything else in the programme for your time in London?
I also had the pleasure of sharing a meal with Jamie Oliver, meeting New Zealand’s UK High Commissioner, touring BBC London, enjoying a 10 Downing Street garden lunch, and meeting PM Theresa May. Former UK Prime Minister, Sir John Major was the chairperson of the Awards and so we attended multiple events hosted by him. · What is the latest progress for GirlBoss New Zealand? Have things grown/transformed from the last time we saw you? We are just about to launch the GirlBoss Awards - a nationwide search for young women who are defying stereotypes and creating change in their community. We are currently running Changemakeher workshops throughout the country. Changemakeher is a 2-hour workshop for young women to learn how they can positively impact their communities and achieve their dreams with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths.) This year, 35 schools in New Zealand will go through the Changemakeher programme for free. After leaving London, I flew straight to Christchurch where I am right now running workshops for 230 young women from 3 Christchurch Schools. This has been sponsored by Epic Innovation Christchurch.

What else are you working on, what does the future hold for you?
My future is growing GirlBoss New Zealand and securing the funding so that we can say yes to every school in New Zealand who asks to hear the GirlBoss message. Currently, we receive overwhelming requests from schools all over New Zealand who want GirlBoss programmes and we are developing strategies to meet that demand. Mid term I am focussing on the development of our online GirlBoss Connect Platform, and in the long term, doing anything and everything I can to ensure New Zealand reaches full gender equality and every young person in New Zealand is equipped with the skills they need to thrive in the future of work.

Alexia has followed our AIMES Awards pathway by winning an AIMES Emerging Talent Award in 2016, followed by an AIMES Service to the Community Award in 2017, assisting her to continue the amazing work that GirlBoss New Zealand does, and we are incredibly proud of her latest achievement.

A total grant funding pool of $200,000 is available for 2018 and applications are open now - to find out more click www.aimesawards.co.nz