NatAlli’s lead partner FH Münster recently presented the project at the second Women’s* Empowerment Convention on the 23rd of April in Münster, Germany.
The theme of the event is Equity, Leadership, Career & Entrepreneurship. The convention emphasised the need for strengthening the representation and visibility of women in entrepreneurship, the start-up scene, leadership and innovation and showcasing their achievements and potential for the culture of innovation. It proved the perfect audience to unveil our mentoring project, NatAlli as we aim to empower Ukrainian women to act as entrepreneurs for economic and social regeneration.
The rich and varied programme was kicked off by Paula Menninghaus, Co-Founder and Head of Marketing & Events at Strong Partners who highlighted the importance of networking, “Networking doesn’t just mean finding new contacts and engaging in dialogue, but also maintaining contacts”. This is very relevant to NatAlli who as part of its mentoring programme to train mentors and highly educated Ukrainian women, will form a virtual ecosystem and community platform that will facilitate opportunities for connection, collaboration and interaction between mentors and their mentees.
Vera Strauch, founder of the Female Leadership Academy, gave a rousing keynote speech. She is committed to fairer structures in the world of work and takes a critical and constructive look at collaboration, leadership and organisational development from a feminist perspective. “For good leadership, we need a form of connection. The centre is the community,” she says. When it comes to the question of how people want to work together, feminist leadership – characterised, among other things, by respect and the credo “power with others instead of power over others” – comes up against a patriarchal understanding, i.e. dominance and competition.
An interesting panel discussion and again hugely relevant to NatAlli was the topic of “How can we shape equal opportunities through systemic and individual change?” to conclude the evening. Commenting on the event, NatAlli Project Leader, Nelli Scharapow said, “I’m delighted to showcase the NatAlli project here as we support women entrepreneurs and innovators with our mentoring programme for highly educated Ukrainian women. We want them to feel invited to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence to become entrepreneurs and realise their potential as they help and learn from each other”.
The inspiring occasion was organised by the University of Münster and Münster University of Applied Sciences under the umbrella of the REACH – EUREGIO Start-up Center who facilitated 250 participants, exchanging ideas and networking.
Note: The gender marker (*) after a word serves as a reference to the constructional nature of “gender.” “Women*,” for example, refers to all persons who define themselves, are defined, and/or see themselves made visible under the designation “woman.” (Source: FUMA)
