Anna Stewart was a journalist and active Victorian union official who tragically lost her life aged 35. The Anna Stewart Memorial Project is a women’s leadership training and development program designed to encourage more women to be active in their unions.

The “Annas” learn campaigning and organising skills, women’s leadership, union women’s history, their rights as a delegate or health and safety representative in the workplace and emerging issues for women at work. Participants learn from the experience of other women from diverse industries, unions and occupations through placement in their own union and other participating unions where they complete worksite meetings, training, campaign events, communications and media training and more.

Victorian Trades Hall Council runs two Anna Stewart Memorial Project intakes of two weeks each per year.

In 2023, 23 women from 11 unions completed the Project, joining the more than 1000 alumni of the Project since 1984. In 2024 we look forward to celebrating 40 years of the Anna Stewart Memorial Project with a reunion event for former Annas and their mentors. Alumni include current and former union secretaries, civic leaders and Members of Parliament, attesting to the success of the Project.