Beza Mickan-White left Ethiopa for her adopted land when she was four.
Beza Mickan-White left Ethiopa for her adopted land when she was four. Photo: Jason South
The desire for world peace, amassing one million Instagram followers and having a university degree is now the heart-felt plea of savvy young women chasing the crown in the beauty pageant circuit.
Steely feminists who equate beauty with slavery may believe pageants are chaining women back to the Mixmaster of the 1950s but entrants are using the platform to further themselves and their cause. 
There are no longer swimsuits on the catwalk in Miss World Australia, a pageant boosting its charity focus under the new national director, Deborah Miller, who believes in the event's motto, "Beauty with a Purpose".
Singer Eleea Navarro performed and paraded at the Miss World Australia launch.
Singer Eleea Navarro performed and paraded at the Miss World Australia launch. Photo: Jason South
Having a purpose is preferable to being beautiful on Instagram with an aimless Zoolander duck face and "resting bitch face" or "RBF" for those who remained frozen like that after the wind blew.
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Miss World still has a runway component and on Friday, eight Australian entrants paraded at Crown's garden room to signal the start of preliminary heats and the national final.
Ms Miller has sashayed from being national director of Miss Universe Australia for eight years to Miss World Australia and is revamping the pageant linked to Variety - the Children's Charity.
Taking a selfie should be a prerequisite for a beauty pageant.
Taking a selfie should be a prerequisite for a beauty pageant. Photo: Jason South
Entrants aged 17-24  have been blessed in the genetic lottery with flawless skin and enviable hair but they do have a brain. Ms Miller said she only chooses smart women to compete. "I have to have smart," she said. "You have to have everything nowadays. It's so competitive out there.
"The girls all raise money for Variety and the charity helps the girls to fundraise. It really helps the girls to be doing these things at a young age."
The women who must be a "natural-born female" as stated in the rules are aiming high. Beza Mickan-White was born in Ethiopia and was adopted by an Adelaide family when she was four.
And the winner was not Miss Colombia but Miss Philippines in the Miss Universe blunder.
And the winner was not Miss Colombia but Miss Philippines in the Miss Universe blunder. Photo: John Locher
She moved to Melbourne two weeks ago and her goal is to do humanitarian aid work. She's certainly equipped for a role at the United Nations. "If you use the pageant the right way you can benefit people," Ms Mickan-White said. 
Carolina Vargas​ has completed a bachelor of arts majoring in psychology and a masters degree in social work. She works with refugees and asylum seekers.
Eleea Navarro​, a singer/songwriter/model/actress, works for the Animal Welfare League in Queensland and is studying a bachelor of communications majoring in public relations and journalism. 
Miss Teen USA host Mario Lopez with 'the Iraq' contestant Caitlin Upton in 2007.
Miss Teen USA host Mario Lopez with 'the Iraq' contestant Caitlin Upton in 2007.
In case entrants are fixated on the model's diet that involves eating the air in the donut hole instead of the donut, the pageant's wellness coach, Andi Lew, teaches them about healthy eating. In her words: "I teach them to eat."
The other lesson is in having a purpose. "What are you going to do for the community?" she asked. "We help them find their purpose."
Miss World is a British pageant that was established in 1951 and Miss Universe is an American pom-pom-waving extravaganza that started in 1952.
Miss Universe used to be owned by Donald Trump, the mogul who would suffer from severe helmet hair if a presidential crown was applied to his scalp. That high-octane pageant that still has a swimsuit component catapulted Newcastle cheerleader Jennifer Hawkins to Miss Universe in 2004.
When Miss World stopped the swimsuit category in 2014, chairwoman Julia Morley told Elle magazine: "I don't care if someone has a bottom two inches bigger than someone else's. We are really not looking at her bottom. We are really listening to her speak."
But sometimes the foot-in-lipsticked mouth condition surfaces in pageants during the nail-biting final question. Geographically challenged Miss Teen South Carolina, Caitlin Upton, pointed to "the Iraq" on her peculiar atlas in 2007.
Or the host can have a "blonde moment" by announcing the wrong winner as Miss Universe compere Steve Harvey did in December by awarding the crown to Miss Colombia instead of Miss Philippines.
In Australia, some entrants dream of hosting a TV show and being appointed ambassadors for brands so their social life is taken care of and they get showered by freebies and adulation. Sadly, that comes with a use-by date.
When Ms Miller switched roles, there was confusion among entrants about exactly which pageant they were applying for but thanks to Botox, some belles didn't look as shocked as they really were.
With a war chest that spans fake fan, teeth whitening, Botox and fillers, the dramatics are played out in the beauty clinic as much as the stage.
​Miss World Australia expects its belles to exude talent, intelligence and compassion but white teeth are also vital because the gift bag contained a "White Glo" toothpaste kit.
A fluorescent mouth can come in handy in the event of a blackout to lead all the runners-up to the nearest exit.