The Regional Council of Businesswomen and Female Entrepreneurs, which has been actively operating within the Styrian Chamber of Commerce for many years, organised the 7th Women's Entrepreneurship Conference on 4 December 2019.
Previous conferences have always attracted many participants, addressing various and interesting topics. The participating guests, with their perspectives and experiences, each from their own viewpoint, have always made the conference interesting, useful and encouraging. And so it was this year as well, when they tackled the interesting topic of success and failure in the business world.
Participants were first greeted by mag. Vida Perko, President of the Regional Council of Businesswomen and Female Entrepreneurs (Perle), also Director of Academia Institute of Technology Maribor, and mag. Aleksandra Podgornik, Director of the Styrian Chamber of Commerce Maribor.
mag. Vida Perko, Director of Academia Institute of Technology Maribor and President of the Regional Council of Businesswomen and Female Entrepreneurs (Perle)
In her introductory address, dr. Aleksandra Lobnik, full professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, and Director of the Institute for Environmental Protection and Sensors, IOS, highlighted that practically all women who also embark on the path of entrepreneurship are in fact multifunctional, also because they want to be excellent in all areas. She highlighted her starting point, which she gained through sport, where perseverance and hard work are the foundation for success, but not its guarantee. "A person also needs self-confidence, courage and must allow themselves to dream of victory and success. In business, encountering obstacles is a daily occurrence, they are not easy to solve, but through this we also grow and develop. That is why we persevere. Defeats are in fact a positive thing if they guide us towards new reflections and new opportunities. After many years in the world of entrepreneurship, I am increasingly convinced that women should connect even more and support each other. With support, falls are no longer so painful," she told those gathered, amongst other things.
At the conference, Marta Turk, founding president of the Community of Slovenian Businesswomen, which operates at the Zavod Meta, and mag. Vida Perko, President of the Regional Council of Businesswomen and Female Entrepreneurs, signed a memorandum of cooperation, as both organisations have many common goals. The signing of the memorandum is a commitment by both organisations to cooperate closely in the future and to support each other in certain projects, such as organising the annual Women's Entrepreneurship Conference, the meeting of 500 businesswomen, the annual consultation on the economic position of women in Slovenia, and to cooperate in applying for international and domestic calls that include the programme orientations of both. Both organisations will also strive to cooperate with other similar groups in Slovenia.
Signing of the memorandum of cooperation
At the conference, participants also signed an appeal for a change to the Criminal Code in the part concerning sexual integrity, to which Amnesty International is calling for signatures. The appeal is addressed to and will be handed over to the Minister of Justice Andreja Katič. Businesswomen united in the Regional Council of Businesswomen and Female Entrepreneurs have also added a white ribbon to their distinctive logo, thereby joining the zero tolerance towards violence and the call for Slovenia to clearly define in law that sexual intercourse without consent is rape, and to unequivocally determine that silence or the absence of "no" does not constitute consent.
Subsequently, participants listened to extremely interesting stories from eight businesswomen: Ingrid Logar from the company Čeveljc, Alenka Kügerl, Enyo, Patricija Šenekar, owner of Hiška zelišč, Tina Arnuš from Zelena Japka, Petra Božič Blagajac from Paleta znanj, Maja Monrue, Coaching in intuitivne knjige, Ana Stopar, Arhitekturni biro AS, and Alenka Mrzdovnik, who owns Panorama glamping in Visole near Slovenska Bistrica.
Although they told different stories and started from different motivations, they all shared experiences they had gone through on their entrepreneurial journey when they faced major, seemingly unsolvable challenges, and also through their positive energy found a path for a new entrepreneurial journey or for a different continuation of the existing one.
Source: Academia (10. 12. 2019). Fotografije: arhiv Academie.
This English summary was produced automatically from the Slovenian report and is pending editorial review. Slovenska različica