Network events in 2007
11 January 2007 - Annual General Meeting - New Year, New Name, New Board!
At the AGM on 11 January we had a unanimous vote in favour of our new name: European Professional Women's Network Nice-Côte d'Azur (or EuropeanPWN Nice-Côte d'Azur). The reasons for a name change are three-fold:
Firstly, because we wish to create an image with a broader appeal, increasing the value of our brand and hence association with our group.
Secondly, we want to align our name with those of other European chapters. The more common naming convention within the European Professional Women's Network makes reference to the nearest major city. We have even experienced confusion between Sophia (Antipolis) in France and Sofia in Bulgaria!
Thirdly, our membership base is increasingly being drawn from areas beyond the geographic environs of Sophia Antipolis. A new name will help us to attract members from all areas in our region.
The new 2007 Board was elected as follows:
President: Susanne Forsman-Hey
Vice-President: Mary Lumley
Treasurer: Ingrid Loren
Secretary & Membership: Elsa Armanet-Said
Partnerships: Tracy Stanley (former President)
Mentoring: Marilyn Davison
Business School Alliances: Dorothy Foster
8 & 13 February - Two networking lunches in Monaco and Sophia Antipolis
In February, we held two networking lunches. On February 13 we held our first event in Monaco. We enjoyed a lively networking lunch with 18 participants at the Riviera Marriott. We now plan to include a number of events in our 2007 calendar in the Principality.
We also held a networking lunch on 8 February in Valbonne, at Le Bleu Lavande.
8 March - International Women's Day - in partnership with Femmes 3000
In collaboration with Femmes 3000 and several other local associations, this year’s International Women’s Day focused on “Women, Innovation and Sustainable Development”. The event was arranged by Femmes 3000 and co-sponsored by EuropeanPWN – Nice and other associations.
The afternoon offered an ambitious program with more than 15 presentations, representing practical, academic, commercial, charitable and artistic approaches to the theme. Amongst them was a presentation of a Fair Trade perfume project, the birth of re-engineered washable diapers, a theatre play focusing on environmentally unconscious behaviour, and the launch of the PediBus also known as organised parent-led walking to and from school.
Interwoven were break-out sessions where participants shared ideas and promises of ways to make individual contributions to better environmental behaviour. In fact, the entire event was held in the spirit of “think global, act local” and aimed to kick off a “collective human adventure towards a positive economy and society”.
With its variety, the event offered so many new ideas and approaches that one could not help but walk away with the desire to do an extra bit.
30 March - Lunch with CEO Guest Speaker
We were delighted to welcome Jean-Marc Djian, Director of Atos Origin’s South East France Region as our speaker in the first of a series of events, designed to profile international businesses located on the Côte d’Azur to our members.
12 April - Communicating with Authority and Impact
In April, we invited John Abulafia, a presenter who bases his work on his experience as a theatre director and helps people to communicate with authority and impact. He has worked very specifically with women and has designed sessions to enable women to understand how to work with space, time and pace in order to establish their authority in meetings, in presentations and on conference calls. This was a members only event.
11 April in Monaco
We also hosted this event in Monaco on 11 April. The Monaco event was open to non-members.
15 May - Women & Entrepreneurism - Panel Discussion
- Candace Johnson, an international telecommunications expert and entrepreneur, and one of the 50 most powerful businesswomen in Europe. She has been featured in articles in Time Magazine, the Financial Times, the Economist, Le Monde, WirtschaftsWoche, and Manager Magazin, to name a few.
- Annie Blandel, from Côte d'Azur Pionnieres (off-shoot of Paris Pionnieres, the business incubator for women).
- Julia Haston, a successful local business owner, who runs BJC Europe, a management consulting company, specialised in business change management.
12 June - Working Internationally
What all our members have in common, is a shared interest and experience in working in different countries. Our collective experience provides a rich source of learning on working successfully in different cultural contexts. On 12 June we held a workshop for members to share their experience.
We also explored the impact of culture on gender role expectations and on decision making processes.
CANCELLED - 13 & 14 June, 2007 - Field Trip to Salon des Entrepreneurs - LYON
Whilst in the process of organising a members trip to the Salon des Entrepreneurs in Lyon, we discovered that an Entrepreneurs Forum will be held in Sophia Antipolis during June. Being local, this is even more relevant to our entrepreneurial members. We therefore decided not to pursue our arrangements for the salon in Lyon on 13-14 June. Further information can be found on www.forumentrepreneur.fr.
5 July - Strategic Planning Workshop for EuropeanPWN Nice-Côte d'Azur
Contribute to the future direction of the network. A presentation of EuropeanPWN Nice-Côte d'Azur Vision and Strategic Plan was followed by workshop discussions. Members only event.
14 September - Speaker Lunch with Paola Wintenberger from Malongo Coffee
The EuropeanPWN-Nice were pleased to welcome PAOLA WINTENBERGER, Training Manager for Malongo Coffee (founded in 1934 and based in Carros, Nice) to make a lunchtime presentation to the EuropeanPWN-Nice branch on Friday 14th September 2007, at the Mercure Hotel, Rue Albert Caquot, Sophia Antipolis (12.00 – 14.00h).
Today Malongo is a significant player in the international coffee market, operating under Fair Trade agreements with its growers and producers, and providing aid to Haiti by continuing the promotion of coffee cultivation it started in there in1999. The company production and distribution processes are eco-friendly, and Malongo is a prime example of a local company combining a thriving business with social and environmental responsibility.
11 October - A Career in the Luxury Goods & Services Industry
We were very pleased that senior representatives from the Luxury Goods & Services accepted our invitation to come and speak to us on this subject from multiple perspectives: higher education, the consumer fragrance industry, the whole sale industry, the luxury services industry as well as the importance of education in a highly competitive market. We learned about the evolution of the industry in the past decade and meeting the requirements of a very demanding consumer.
Our speaker guests included:
Dr. Pascal Portanier - International University of Monaco
Cristina Garcia - Four Seasons Spa
Caroline Waters - MANE
Members only event.
Venue: Mercure Hotel, Rue Albert Caquot, Sophia Antipolis. Registration time: 18:30. Event fee: 20€
15 November - Reaching your goals "façon Zen"!
We all know the feeling of stress ("good" or "bad") catching up with us, leaving us in a frazzled and sub-optimal state. What if it didn’t have to be so? What if there were little tricks to help us center, concentrate, - and hence prioritize and accomplish what we intended to? We debated the stress phenomena and learned about 3 different ways of managing our stress. We started with presentations by our 3 panelists, then broke into groups where each participant attended two 20-mins workshops, acquiring some real techniques ready to be used the very next day !
The idea for this event came about over dinner following our May event, and it quickly materialized as we recognized that we even had all the talent "in-house". We were delighted that the following members agreed to participate in the panel and share their knowledge in the ensuing mini-workshops: Ines O’Donnovan, researcher and PhD student in Stress Management; Isabelle Sogno-Lalloz, certified Aroma therapist; and Gabriella Colombo, Master in Ericksonian Hypnosis.
Members only event.
Venue: Mercure Hotel, Rue Albert Caquot, Sophia Antipolis. Registration time: 18:30. Fee: 20€
7 December - Christmas Party
Christmas social event at a members beautiful home overlooking the bay of Cannes.
