A Women in Tech Forum was held at Expo 2020 by the EU-GCC Dialogue on Economic Diversification Project in collaboration with the European Centre for Women and Technology.
The event, titled “Women’s Path to Ikigai: Technology, Entrepreneurship, Self-Development, and Agility,” looked at how the ‘Ikigai’ concept and innovation for Diversity Equity Inclusion and Sustainability (DEIS) is particularly relevant to career and life planning through panels of women tech entrepreneurs who focused on the next generation of women founders and how to initiate new partnerships between EU and GCC actors for new projects supporting female talents.
Eva Fabry, Director of ECWT stressed in connection with the event that “The European Union is a key partner in harnessing human potential and unlocking opportunities for all. Youth and women play a crucial role in creating sustainable and inclusive societies. Every Woman Digital project = SMART Growth which we now in the Post COVID recovery can make a reality through more intensive EU and GCC collaboration and involving, e.g., African countries, in our future actions”.
The panels covered topics with inspirational women discussing:
Self-Development: With a focus on Entrepreneurship and the need for autonomy, for a woman to become a “female leader,” she needs to be able to develop personally and establish and run a successful business. This panel explored how digital skills and technology supports women’s self-development and tech start-ups.
Empowerment Panel: The journey towards women’s empowerment and how every Woman has faced obstacles and challenges along the way was the topic of this panel discussion. This panel explored how ICT Technology has helped empower women to understand, analyze and overcome the barriers to achieve their dreams.
Motivation & Passion Panel: Most successful entrepreneurs have found an idea that is worth investing their time, energy, and commitment to turn it into a business. This panel explored how women can develop the necessary drive to turn their ideas into reality.
Purpose Panel: Today’s world is increasingly being defined by concepts such as social impact and social consciousness. Therefore, for an idea to be successful it needs to be driven by an authentic and clear purpose; something that will make the world a better place for all to live in. This panel explored how to identify a purpose that matches individuals’ objectives and how to use it for the greater benefit of society.
In the afternoon of the event, a workshop was held to examine key messages and demonstrate the link between the many aspects of Ikigai in the context of the 4th Industrial Revolution and the role of Digitalization in future economies. Participants regarded this as a chance for women to become more involved in STE(A)M entrepreneurship, which would lead to higher economic growth.
The event, co-hosted by the EU-GCC Dialogue for Economic Diversification Project and the European Centre for Women and Technology, provided attendees with the chance to hear and be inspired by the success stories of female tech entrepreneurs from EU and GCC member nations.
