Second Lipton Inspirational Dialogues meet to discuss working women reality and ambition

The second monthly panel of the "Inspirational Dialogues" initiative, launched by Unilever Lipton, will be held in Jeddah in July 2011 to discuss the topic, ‘Working women: Reality and Ambition.’

The initiative offers a dynamic platform that brings together several generations of successful Saudi women to engage in constructive dialogue, thus strengthening women’s role in developing all aspects of Saudi life while achieving self-esteem and underscoring their belief in various aspects related to personal and community development.

The second discussion meeting follows the success of the first meeting held in February and hosted by Dr. Aisha Netto, member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Chief Broadcaster in the English section Samar Fatani and Captain Lina Al-Maeena, founder of the first women sports team in the Kingdom. They shared their experiences and the obstacles they faced in the beginning of their careers and life through an open discussion titled, "Your Success is Our Inspiration".

"The initiative was made possible due to the outstanding success achieved by Saudi women, which in turn inspired our team. We are determined to foster this initiative and further support the future success of Saudi women. In essence, the Inspirational Dialogues events, launched by Unilever Lipton, are aimed at supporting women and highlighting their success to set an example for the new generation who might not yet know where, or how, to start", said Yasser Joharji, Managing director, Binzagr Unilever.

The "Creative Dialogues" initiative is a brainstorming session to help women recognize their potential, by understanding relevant success stories, and utilizing local development programmes.

The discussion on ‘Working women: reality and ambition’ will cover several key areas such as the percentage of women’s employment in private and public sectors, and their achievements and roles in decision making, alongside relevant examples about the real experiences of accomplished women who work in the public and private sector.

The "Creative Dialogues" will also discuss the way society looks at working women and the level of encouragement they receive from their families and society, and how they succeed as professional women who balance their roles as homemakers. The event will also tackle issues of education and the challenges faced by young Saudi women.

"The discussion, ‘Your Success is Our Inspiration’ was tailored to establish in the participants’ minds the  motivation towards understanding  the reality and achieving great success which can lay foundations for a better future. The initiative is a source of pride for Binzagr Unilever as it builds bridges of knowledge for the young generations of girls, inviting them to discover their potential and decide on new paths  in life, thus contributing to the development of society,” added Joharji.

The initiative in Jeddah, launched for the first time in KSA by Unilever Lipton, offers an ideal platform for Saudi women of all ages to engage in constructive dialogues by discussing three main topics. With the first, "Inspiration to Set an Example", the participants will discuss their achievements on personal and social levels, while highlighting the challenges they faced and the traditional stereotyping they had to address in order to raise awareness within their society about women’s capabilities and enable the society accept new modern concepts that give women the chance to prove themselves as active members in the society.

The session will also discuss the development of Saudi women in recent years, especially with their increased access to better education and the series of educational initiatives launches by the Saudi government, to achieve social sustainability and strengthen women’s roles in developing all aspects of Saudi life. Some other factors include the increasing access to internet and growing usage of modern communication technologies by women, and the growing role of media in discussing feminist issues, which play a vital role in raising awareness among women and encouraging them to explore their true potential and taking their own decisions.

The "Achievement by Understanding Reality" session is on the participants’ experience regarding the growth of women’s capabilities, based on the changing social norms, the availability of educational programmes, and career opportunities allowing women. The session will allow interaction between the speakers and the attendees, to discuss the best methods of understanding social realities, and the main factors that help women in playing a more active role in social development.

The third topic, "Ambition and Understanding the Future", is to be the main focus of the initiative. It will discusses the future of Saudi women and their ambitions, as the participants talk long about their aspirations by determining women’s ambitions and future needs in order to reach new heights with Saudi women taking their place of pride among leading nations, and presenting their cultural vision on local, regional and international levels.

The event will host successful women who will present real examples of academic entities in the Kingdom such as universities, colleges, institutes and schools, as well as professional Saudi women who’ve been active in public service and developmental programmes within civil society institutions. Women who have succeeded in developing their individual talent and skills including media personalities, business women, artists, photographers, and others will attend the sessions.