Inspired Speechless – International Women’s Day

Mar 10, 2009 by Suzy Ogé    No Comments    Posted under: Entrepreneurship, Inspiring, Women

By all accounts, the WBII pulled off a truly inspirational event for International Women’s Day!   After long days and sleepless nights of organizational details, the evening came together magically!  I only expected to collapse in exhaustion at the end of the evening, instead I was completely energized.

The focus of our planning was always on the audience.  The primary goal was to not be boring!  The rule was no long speeches (strongly recommended for all occasions) and each speaker used their 5-10 minutes  to reveal themselves and their aspirations through their own personal story.  These ladies did not disappoint!

Our second goal was to appeal to the broad range of  interests of our diverse audience.  Attendees included Men and Women; students, entrepreneurs and corporate executives.  Each speaker presented their unique perspective on the topic of  Women and Opportunity.

Jaws dropped as 30 year old Marietje Schaake, confirmed as an official D66 European Parliament Candidate just the day before, wowed us all with her views on leadership, the generation gap and her personal commitment to initiating change through the political process.  She will be one to watch!

Annick Nazambimana, of Oxfam- Novib related her recent experience working with a very committed group of women in South Sudan, to secure funding and realize an educational project for girls in remote villages.  Annick shared their secrets for success; total ownership of their own project, attention to detail, and the tenacity to basically kidnap  her until their idea was transformed into a fundable proposal.

New in 2009, the WBII introduced the Entrepreneurial Initiative Awards to recognize three core values; ambition, social innovation and networking.

Corina Waaijers, owner of the new Hotel Mozaic in The Hague received the Ambition Award and shared some of her adventures in buying, rebuilding and opening a new boutique hotel.  Amusingly, yet sincerely, she said she didn’t think she had done anything special, just exactly what anyone would do who dreamed of opening a hotel since she was a teenager and did so at the age of 31. The students of New Business School Amsterdam were particularly charmed by Corina’s account of her initiation into entrepreneurship.

Debritu Lusteau of Meleya Coffee was recognized for Social Innovation.  In addition to her lofty goal of branding Ethiopia, she collaborates with students of the New Business School Amsterdam, (a few joined her onstage) and students in Ethiopia, where she had flown back from earlier that day after a week of working with students from both countries.

Deborah Valentine, a hand in the Hague, was awarded Networker of the Year 2009. Although her business is still in the early stages, she is thoughtful and generous in connecting people in a meaningful and authentic way and will succeed because networking is a way of life for her, not an event or transaction.  Deborah was so surprised by the award, that she was left speechless and that never happens!

These women are all awe inspiring examples of Women and Opportunity in action.   The crowd’s response to their stories and the overwhelming gratitude shown to us for marking International Women’s Day in such a unique and positive way,  was unexpected and truly inspiring!

Got anything to say? Go ahead and leave a comment!