Victoria Square marks IWD with sister season

As part of Victoria Square’s special IWD event programme, inspiring local women making big moves were put in the spotlight, with two thought-provoking panel event. Female owned businesses were also given a platform, with a special ‘Female-Owned Fayre’.

Bondi Pilates hosted a revitalising Pilates class designed focused on mindfulness and movement. After the session, Bondi Pilates founder and director, Rebecca Adamson, joined Love is Blind contestant, Sabrina Vittoria and online fitness coach Kathryn McKinstry for a live ‘Wellness Panel’ event, with Cool FM’s Rebecca McKinney.

Speaking candidly about her experiences with depression, navigating a very public marriage breakdown, Love is Blind contestant, Sabrina Egerton said social media has been a largely positive medium, bar some experiences with online trolling.

“On my own channels, 99% of my interactions have been positive," she said. "I actually had women from around the world message me after the show saying, ‘thank you so much for standing up for yourself and speaking your truth and holding him accountable, because I have been in a very similar situation’. Then I realised I wasn't alone, that this is something that women around the world were experiencing. If I had to go through that to shine a light on it and to help others, then really, I'm blessed to have been able to do that.

“The negativity was on platforms like, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, forums. That was really difficult. But I stopped reading it because it doesn't do any good to focus on negativity. Through this process, I have focused on gratitude – I have so much to be thankful for, and I like to try and focus on that. Daily gratitude journalling has been a hugely positive thing to have come from this whole experience; it keeps me grounded and positive.”

Two of NI’s most popular content creators, Shannon Mitchell and Olivia McVeigh also joined Rebecca McKinney for a candid conversation around the highs and lows of living life in the public eye and building careers as content creators as part of a special ‘Social Panel’ event.

Olivia, from County Tyrone, has used her social media platform to raise awareness and build an online community for people living with alopecia, by sharing her own hair loss journey, and showing how she styles and customises a vast collection of wigs. Shannon Mitchell has become known and loved for her straight-talking, no-nonsense takes, sharing her unfiltered experiences of life and style.

Both creators spoke about the importance of authenticity in cultivating their significant followings, and how they deal with trolls.

Speaking as part of the panel event, Shannon Mitchell said: “Personally, I want it [my content] to be something that I enjoy… if you're coming on, pretending to be something you're not. That's exhausting. If I'm being myself, people will gravitate towards me and my followers are going to be people like me, and then that's what makes it special and enjoyable. It would be exhausting to be anything else.

“Of course, you get the odd nasty message… when I think about negative comments, I feel sorry for the person, because I'm like, ‘that's coming from a place where they might be in a really bad headspace, because people that are happy don't do that kind of thing. So that's how I comfort myself.”

Olivia McVeigh said she also lives by the manta, ‘be yourself, everyone else is taken.’

“Authenticity is so important. You are the only you, and if you're gonna try and be somebody else, that’s not a way to live your life.”

The influencer, who is an ambassador for the Little Princess Trust also had a word of warning for the trolls.

"With criticism, I think if you come for me, I couldn’t really care less. I like to be nice myself, so that's really the only thing that matters. If you come for alopecia, or people with alopecia under my platform, I will come for you, because you're just not allowed to do that, not under my watch.”

A ‘Female-Owned Fayre’ ran across the weekend, showcasing a curated selection of local, female-owned businesses and discover products that celebrate creativity, sustainability, and female entrepreneurship and make-up artists from Charlotte Tilbury hosted two Makeup Masterclasses, demonstrating pro tips and tricks.

Commenting after the event, Michelle Greeves, centre manager, Victoria Square said: “We were proud to bring our ‘Sister Season’ event programme back for 2025, providing a platform to showcase and reflect on the achievements of local women.”

For further information on future events, visit www.victoriasquare.com