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FCEM Activities and
Actions
from October 2005 to October
2008
Since the
investiture of Françoise Foning as FCEM World President during the 53rd FCEM
congress in October 2005 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the new President with the
members of the FCEM Steering Committee and the FCEM Regional Commissioners has
undertaken and realized wide-reaching actions and has participated in an
expansive programme of activities at all levels. Among the major
highlights:
Clinton Global
Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, New York, September 23 to 26, 2008,
maintaining the momentum and the objectives of the
FCEM mission to Washington, DC, Desma Reid-Coleman, FCEM Vice President,
represented the interests of FCEM, which this summer became a 2008 Clinton
Global Initiative member.
CGI supports the development of
commitments by facilitating dialog across sectors, providing opportunities to
identify partners, recognizing and showcasing members’ efforts, and
communicating results. The CGI is composed of members that participate through
commitments in the form of provision of technical assistance, financial support,
time, or in-kind contributions. FCEM which has as its focus area ‘Poverty
Alleviation through enterprise’ has provided its first proposed "Commitment to
action" consisting of the implementation of the WE-Study project which was
submitted during the annual meeting.
FCEM mission to Washington, DC, September 7 to 11, 2008,
Secretary General Etta Carignani headed up the FCEM
mission to the capital of the US, Washington, DC, composed of Desma Reid-Coleman
FCEM Vice President, Maria Elena Mendoza FCEM Commissioner, Sara Elena
Perez-Caballero member of AMMJE, Mexico and Tereza Hagerstrom-Danan FCEM
Director.
Meetings with international institutions to
present FCEM and the FCEM projects WE-Win capacity building, WE-Study, the
WEE-Win Portal were held with the World Bank Poverty reduction and Economic
Management Network (PREM) Gender and Development Senior Director Mayra Buvinic
and other managers and directors concerned with women promoting women owned
businesses; the International Finance Corporation (IFC) GEM Team; the team of
directors and program managers from the Center for International Private
Enterprise (CIPE) whose mission is to reinforce associative management capacity;
and the InterAmerican Development Bank (ADB) regional development bank for Latin
America.
The visit provided the opportunity for FCEM to
reinforce the activity and membership of the national association NAWBO and to
see Carol Koc past NAWBO president, to meet the new dynamic NAWBO president
Cynthia McClain Hill, to visit with Terry Neese and to get to know about her
organisation IEEW (Institute for the Economic Empowerment of Women) and to
experience lobbying American style through WIPP (Women Impacting Public Policy).
FCEM mission participants were also invited to lunch on Capitol Hill at the
House restaurant with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
Steering Committee, June 5 to 7, 2008, Iceland,
Margret Kristmanndottir FKA President and Ally
Karlsdottir FCEM Commissioner and International representative of FKA and the
dynamic members of the Iceland association of women entrepreneurs FKA, extended
a warm invitation and welcome to the members of the FCEM Steering Committee and
FCEM network to Iceland, providing a rich programme of meetings and events which
they organised June 4 to 7, 2008 in the capital, Reykjavik. Participating FCEM
members learned much about Iceland, its history, people and Geo-economic
position in the world.
Activities included: Site seeing
around Reykjavik, visits to companies owned by FKA members, networking. FCEM
members had the unusual opportunity to be received by the President of Iceland
Olafur Ragnar Grimsson at his private residence and the great pleasure of a
visit from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland Ingibjorg Solrun Gislattir
who joined the Steering Committee meeting in session to discuss common
interests.
Highlights of the meeting was the unveiling
of the new animated image of FCEM by Micheline Briclet, the presenting of the
WEE-Win Portal project concept, and the planting of a symbolic tree in the
central park of the city.
FCEM Day, Friday May 16, 2008,
marked the eighth consecutive year that FCEM members and friends around the
globe feted their day, the day to remember, celebrate, and promote women’s
entrepreneurship. Messages were received from FCEM members and friends sharing
how they celebrated the event.
CNFCE, Tunisia feted the
day by focusing on ICT and the New Economy through a visit with the young
generation of ICT entrepreneurs.
BAWE, Great Britain
held a luncheon in London on the 16th May to celebrate ‘FCEM Day’, where
they were joined by members from the Women's Network, from Dublin in Ireland who
are interested in FCEM membership.
This year FCEB
celebrated FCEM Day with the organising of an event on the evening of the 15
May. The evening featured Networking organised with the Chamber of Commerce of
Walloon. In the spirit of prospecting, more than 100 women entrepreneurs from
the region were invited to participate under the theme 'The Carrousel of
Enterprises'.
To celebrate the 'FCEM DAY' FKA held a
luncheon on the May 15th. With two international speakers: Mary Schnack from
NAWBO,USA speaking about PR and Deb Leary from BAWE, UK speaking about The Road
to Success.
Forum Leading Business Women of Africa 2008, Cape Town, South Africa, May 18-21,
Desma Reid Coleman, FCEM Vice President represented FCEM World President
Françoise Foning at this forum organised by LBWA and held under the theme «
Women entrepreneurs, Africa’s growth reserves".
Important delegations from Africa - Cameroon, Congo, Guinea, Nigeria,
Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Egypt, USA, and South Africa, - took part in
this major meeting, held under the patronage of the "Foundation for the
Development of Africa", FDA – Foundation headed Mr Peter Metcafe.
The object of this meeting was the inauguration of
"Leading Women of Africa »,- platform for economic emancipation of women, -
aiming to bring together women leaders with the business leaders, for a pooling
of strategies to reinforce the economic power of women of the African
continent.
B2B workshops were organized, and an open
podium was offered. Many women businesses owners were able to present their
businesses, and to promote their products and services.
FCEM World Committee meeting, Florence, Italy, 24 - 28 April
2008. Under the
patronage of General of the Airforce Brigade Settimo Caputo, Commandant of the
Institute of Aeronautic and Military sciences of Italy, the association of
Italian women entrepreneurs AIDDA organized April 24 to 28, 2008, the meeting of
the FCEM World Committee under the theme «Global warming and Enterprise
Strategies for Enterprises"
The day of April 24 was
dedicated to the meeting of the Steering Committee which was held at the private
residence of Laura Gucci AIDDA President. On April 25, the FCEM World Committee
was organized inside the halls of the Institute of Aeronautic and Military
Sciences, presided over by Françoise Foning, FCEM World President with the
participation of numerous delegations for FCEM member associations from around
the globe.
The conference on the theme
« Global Warming and the strategies of enterprises » featured
presentations from the eminent experts in the field Professor Giampiero
Maracchi, Director of the Institute of Biometeorology,
Professor Antonio Brambati of the University of Trieste, and Gianni
Morra, Director of the Center of Research of Fiat. The conclusions of the
conference were presented by Secretary General FCEM, Etta Carignani. FCEM was
honored by the presence of the Mayor of Florence who gave the opening address of
the conference.
Among the highlights of the World Committee,
included :
° Ceremony of the flags of the 60 countries of the FCEM
network
° The conference on Global Warming,
° The planting of the
symbolic tree.
The conclusion of the four days of intense work was drafted
in the "FCEM Declaration of Florence ».
Colloquy « Women’s exchange of view points :
Employment and Equality » March 11, 2008 Louvain – la Neuve, Brussels,
Belgium The FCEM World President Françoise Foning was present, 11 March
2008, at Louvain-la Neuve, in Brussels, Belgium, where she participated in the
colloquy organized by the Belgian Women’s Collective ASBL.
The colloquy was held under the theme « Women’s exchange of view points:
Employment and Equality » drew the participation of delegations of women
from Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia.
The objective
of the event was to: bring together the representatives of political, business
and workers associations and the Universities of the North and the South, in a
forum for exchanges with the actors in the field. Among participants at the
colloquy were representatives from the countries of: Cameroon, Morocco, Burundi,
Belgium, Chile, and Congo.
Saint-Petersburg’s Week « Woman of the Year » March
3-7, 2008 Saint-Petersburg, Russia The 2008 Edition of
Saint-Petersburg Week « Woman of the Year », organised by Ludmila
Chubatiuk president of the AWBR, was held March 3 to 7, 2008 in Saint
Petersburg, Russia.
Responding
with enthusiasm to the invitation from the Russian association of women
entrepreneurs were the FCEM World President Françoise Foning, the FCEM Secretary
General Etta Carignani, - Laura Gucci, AIDDA Italy President and FCEM Vice
President, Franca Audisio, AIDDA Vice-president, Daniela Rossi, AIDDA Lombardy,
Ally Karlsdottir, FKA Iceland International Representative, - Antonija Cvetkovic
who led a delegation of three members from KRUG the association of women
entrepreneurs of Croatia.
The participants enjoyed
constructive and enriching exchanges with numerous of Russia’s leading women
including Natalia Karpovich, Olga I. Sentiabreva, Véronika Borovik, Nina
Saprikina, and Irina L. Kunetsova, CEO of the Bank of Moscow.
During the welcoming reception cocktail held in the
sumptuous venue of the Grand Hotel Emerald, the wishes of the Governor of
Saint-Petersburg, Valentina Matvienko, for fruitful meetings and contacts and an
enjoyable sojourn on the banks of the Neva river were transmitted to the
participating FCEM members.
The arrival of the FCEM World
President had been delayed, therefore in her quality as FCEM Secretary General,
Etta Carignani, assured the representation of FCEM during the official
ceremonies. She seized the opportunity of interviews to promote the world
association to the Russian print, radio and television media.
The FCEM World President Françoise Foning joined with the
members at the Saint Petersburg Week event a few days later to preside over the
closing ceremonies and to participate the evening before at a very memorable
gala where she had the opportunity to personally thank the Governor of Saint
Petersburg and all the organizers for the invitation to participate in one of
the most important events of the year.
FCEM Steering Committee meeting, January 31 to February 2,
2008 Hotel Hermitage, Monte-Carlo, Principality of Monaco,
the capital of the Principality of Monaco, was the venue for the first
Steering Committee meeting of the year organised January 31 to February 2, 2008
by the Monaco association of women entrepreneurs AFCEM, under the High Patronage
of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco.
FCEM
members participating at the steering committee included: The FCEM World
President Françoise Foning, the FCEM Secretary General Etta Carignani, the
Assistant Secretary General Dagmar Steinmetz, the FCEM vice-presidents: Reyne
Cienzo, Lidia Angeli, Micheline Briclet, Ludmila Chubatiuk, Laura Gucci, Tatjana
Hine, and Desma Reid Coleman, and Ally Karlsdottir, FCEM Vice Commissioner for
Europe.
The FCEM members were honored at the welcoming
reception by the presence of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, keenly aware of the
situation of women’s entrepreneurship at the national and international levels,
spoke at length with the members of the FCEM Steering Committee.
A visit to the cosmetics products company – Akileine –
gave the owner Anne Marie Noir, the opportunity to provide an overview to the
Steering Committee members of Monaco where she indicated that there are
thousands of women business owners from all sectors of economic activity. She
indicated that Monte Carlo is much more than a fiscal paradise, that it is world
renowned for sports events, and is a very international city that is the
headquarters of numerous enterprises.
In the name of the
world association of women entrepreneurs FCEM, the FCEM World President thanked
HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, for having accorded to the Steering Committee
the great honor and privilege to have the meeting organised under His High
Patronage in the princely city. She thanked as well the President of AFCEM
Elizabeth Ritter-Moati, and the members of the Monaco association for their warm
hospitality and for the resounding success of the Steering Committee.
At the end of the work of the Steering Committee, which
was undertaken in a positive, concrete manner and in an ambiance and environment
conducive to dialog and harmony -- the members of the FCEM Steering Committee
documented their commitment, their engagement and the decisions taken together
in the issuing of « The FCEM Declaration of Monaco».
International Forum Dynamic Cities Need Women du 03 au 05 December
2007 in Brussels, Belgium Following the organisation and
coordination of the FCEM Vice-President Micheline Briclet, the World President
Françoise Foning was invited to participate in the Round
Table on the topic « Women and technology». She seized the opportunity to speak about FCEM’s commitment to women’s acquisition
of ITC and the technology that has been created for FCEM, the CandGo platform
which was created to facilitate the networking, Internet presence, and
integration of women owned businesses into the world economy.
EU-Africa Business Summit, held December 7, 2007 in Lisbon,
Portugal was organised jointly by the Portuguese association of
industries and the Confederation of Portuguese businessmen. The
FCEM World President Françoise Foning and the FCEM
Honorary World President with Mandate Leyla Khaiat were invites to participate
in the intense work undertaken by the Presidents of African countries and their
European homologues.
55 the FCEM World Congress, November 23-28,
2007, Cairo, Egypt
Under the High patronage of the First Lady of
Egypt, Madame Suzanne Moubarak, the Egyptian association of women entrepreneurs
EBWA organised the 55th FCEM World Congress under the theme « FCEM meeting the Millennium Development Challenge». The congress welcomed over 500 delegates from 54 countries.
November 23-24 were dedicated to the work of the Steering Committee and the
World Committee.
As a result of this work, the FCEM World President
Françoise Foning was renewed for a second presidential
mandate of two years. mong the highlights of the congress:
- The ceremony of
flags of 60 country members and friends of FCEM
- The signature of a
pre-accord between FCEM and ITC
- The holding of the FCEM-Partnership
Institutions meeting (AfDB, ITC, CandGo, WIPO, AEMFE, Womenable, Global Links
Network, ICSB, TFO, GTZ-BMZ)
Among the highlights of
the congress:
- The ceremony of flags of 60 country members and friends of
FCEM
- The signature of a pre-accord between FCEM and ITC
- The holding of
the FCEM-Partnership Institutions meeting (AfDB, ITC, CandGo, WIPO, AEMFE,
Womenable, Global Links Network, ICSB, TFO, GTZ-BMZ)
Following the World Congress, the members of
FCEM participated in a joint FCEM-Women Leaders OECD Forum for the MENA region
(Middle East-North Africa), where the FCEM World President Françoise Foning was invited as a special guest and the keynote
speaker of the opening of the Forum. The object of the Forum was to discuss the
reforms to be undertaken in order to create an appropriate business climate, the
role of women entrepreneurs in the economy and investment in the region.
AMMJE National Congress, October
27 to 29, 2007 in Veracruz, Mexico. The FCEM
World President Françoise Foning participated at the
Association of Mexican
Women entrepreneurs (AMMJE) National Congress
organised under the theme: "First Inter-American meeting
of Enterprises united for America", presided by AMMJE
President Maria Carmen Garcia Noémi Jasso.
The numerous renowned invited guests and speakers,
international and national experts, AMMJE partners and important public and
private sector personalities including : Fidel
Herrera Beltran, Governor of the State of Veracruz and Rocio Garcia Gaytan,
President of the National Institute for Women of Mexico.
The presence of the FCEM World President – honored invitee to the congress –
reinforced the éclat of this event where numerous FCEM
member National Associations united to share with their sisters from the greater
Americas their entrepreneurial experiences and expectations, to make contacts
for partnerships and the network. Among FCEM members participating were: Lisa
Kaiser Hickey, President NAWBO (USA), Ruth Bastedo, President WEC (Canada),
Adelina Alcantara Machada, President OBME (Brazil), Lidia Sartoris Angeli,
President OAME Argentina, and FCEM Regional Commissioner for South America, as
well as women entrepreneurs from the countries of the zone Chile, Peru,
Nicaragua, Guatemala, Dominican Republic,…etc.
In her speech, the FCEM World President Françoise Foning lauded the charisma and dynamism of Maria Carmen
Garcia, AMMJE President and FCEM Regional Commissioner for Latin America, whose
energy and dedication made the congress a veritable window on FCEM. The FCEM
World President seized the occasion to inform and make the congress participants
aware of the different axes of the "FCEM Action Plan for
Prosperity", notably: Access Finance and Priority ICT.
The mobilisation that the FCEM World President has solicited for FCEM is echoed
in the numerous correspondence and communications received following the
congress from members in Latin America.
World Forum on Responsible Economy, Lille,
France October 23 to 25, 2007 The objective of the forum was to favour the emergence of a new coherent
socio-economic model. Taking part in this forum were numerous high level
personalities including: Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Prize winner, Nicole Notat, CEO of
VIGEO, and Cheryl Womack, President of the Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the
World.
The work focused in particular on the realisation
of concrete projects aiming to favour the promotion of social entrepreneurship
and socially responsible business and industry throughout the world.
Participating in the plenary session the FCEM World president Françoise Foning spoke on the theme: « Equal chances and territories: the conditions for more
equitable economic development", presenting an overview
of FCEM, its mission and its projects and programmes.
90 th Birthday Celebration for Tinou Dutry,
Honored FCEM President, October 18, 2007 in Liège, Belgium.
The National Association of Belgian Women Entrepreneurs
FCEB organised with great fanfare at the Château
Colonster at the University of Liege in Belgium, the celebration of the 90th
Birthday of Tinou Dutry, who was the second FCEM World President, past President
of the FCEB (Honored) and co-founder of the British association of women
entrepreneurs BAWE.
The FCEM World President Françoise Foning the special surprise guest, was accompanied by
several members of FCEM including FCEMTreasurer Enée Van
Assche, the President of the association FFCEL of Luxembourg Claudine Speltz,
Renée Richard FCEB Honored President, Micheline Briclet
FCEB President and organiser of the festivities, Jacqueline Hannen
representative for VDU Germany, as well as numerous Belgian women entrepreneurs.
3rd Annual Regional Conference on Decentralized Cooperation
and Development Solidarity, "International
Cooperation and Local Policy Actions", October
11 to 12, 2007, Bordeaux, France. The FCEM
World President Françoise Foning to an active role in
the proceedings of "3 rd Annual Regional Conference on
Decentralised Cooperation and Development Solidarity".
The conference, opened by the Vice-president of the regional council for the
Aquitaine, was organised under the theme « International Cooperation and Local Policy actions". Over the two days of meetings international speakers
included prominent experts from - Haiti, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Madagascar,
Geneva, Cameroon …etc.-, who participated at the round
table discussions treating the subject « theatre of
cooperation and the distribution or roles for each actor ». The FCEM World President took this occasion to
present the mission and programmes of FCEM and FCEM’s
work as the avant-garde non-governmental organisation representing women
entrepreneurs and in particular bringing visibility to their important and
incontestable role in economic development.
The President og the International Organisation of
the Francophone, Mr Abdou Diouf, the President of the Regional Council of the
Aquitaine, Mr Alain Rousset, and Jean-Marie Bocket, French Secretary of state
for Cooperation and the Francophone closed the proceedings. The event ended with
the signing of the Charter of Decentralized Cooperation for Sustainable
development – AFCCRE.
International Trade Center (ITC)
"World Export Development Forum", Bringing Down the
Barriers : Defining the Priorities for
Export Development, Montreux, Switzerland, October 8 to 11,
2007. The
Forum was the occasion to bring together high level participants from
institutions, the public and private sector to debate on the best practices and
national strategies for exporting and management. The plenary session was opened
by Patricia Francis, Executive Director ITC and Pascal Lamy WTO General
Director.
Debates on the subject focused on generating
new ideas and solutions to reinforce public-private partnership in the research
for export and management strategies.
The FCEM World President Françoise Foning participated in the session on the subject "Building Competitive Business Environments. Bringing Down the
Barriers: Getting it Right at Home First", aiming to
analyse the reasons why enterprises are prevented from being more competitive at
the international level and to have access to international markets. Françoise Foning was invited to participate as the FCEM
World President and as a leading woman business owner. The World President took
this opportunity to speak about certain barriers that entrepreneurs face in
developing countries when they wish to export their products or services, and to
present the actions that FCEM propose to resolve the problems of barriers to
exporting.
Consolidation of the partnership between FCEM
and ADB , July 1, 2007 in Tunis, Tunisia
The FCEM and the African development Bank (ADB)
held meetings at the Abou Nawas hotel in Tunis, Tunisia with the objective to
confirm and consolidate the cooperative and partnership relations between FCEM
and the regional development bank for the African continent.
The representative from the ADB Leila Mokadem,
of the Private Sector Department, assured the members of the Steering Committee
of the bank’s receptiveness to supporting and
accompanying the FCEM in efforts to promote women’s entrepreneurship, as a motor of economic
development in countries in development in Africa.
The Steering Committee members took the
opportunity to review and discuss the details and the advancement of the
organising and protocol of the 55 th FCEM World Congress being hosted in Cairo,
Egypt November 23 to 28, 2007.
Taking part in the meeting were the FCEM World
President Françoise Foning, the
Honorary FCEM World President Leyla Khaiat, the FCEM Secretary General Etta
Carignani, FCEM Vice President Reyne Cienzo and the staff from the FCEM
Secretariat Tunis and International Office of Geneva.
ITB Convention Market Trends & Innovations
2007, Berlin, Germany, March 8, 2007.
The impact of women on tourism in general and on
the economy in particular is increasingly evident and incontestable. This year
the theme of the Africa Forum – which benefited from the
support of FCEM and the FCEM World President – focused
on "The woman entrepreneur in African tourism".
After the opening word from Dr. Ralph Kadel, of
the KfW Group, and the welcome speech from Dr. Christian Ruck, the FCEM World
President Françoise Foning in her presentation spoke on
the subject "The role of women in the development of
tourism in Africa". She placed an emphasis on the need
to develop and intensify the strategies of partnership, cooperation and
communication among the women entrepreneurs of the world to develop African
tourism while protecting and preserving the continent’s
patrimony
FCEM Steering Committee, March 12, 2007, organized
in Paris, France, The FCEM World
President and the members of the FCEM Steering Committee Leyla Khaiat Honorary
FCEM President, Enee van Assche Treasurer, Etta Carignani Secretary General,
Colette Schreiber Assistant Secretary General and FCEM Vice Presidents: Reyne
Cienzo, Ludmilla Chubatiuk, Dior Diop, Tatjana Hine and Micheline Briclet
Commissioner for ITC and Development met for their first FCEM meeting of the
year in Paris to review progress and fix the short term objectives for FCEM. The
meeting began on a sad note with a minute of silence for Arline Woutersz (past
BAWE President, and former FCEM Vice–President and
Secretary General) who had passed away the day before.
Major points on the agenda included: FCEM
partners, as the Steering welcomed Mr. Steve Gentili President of the FFA
(French Business Forum), partner of FCEM since November 2005, to discuss joint
projects and actions. Discussed as well were the activities of the FCEM
International Bureau in Geneva and the development of a project for FCEM
sponsoring programme. Among highlights included: the naming by the FCEM World
President of Ingrid Vanore-Speer as her special counsellor; and the publishing
of the following:
Recommendations of the Steering Committee
of Paris
° Accelerate the development of projects for
Europe, Latin America and Asia.
°
Support actively the success of FCEM origin projects supported by the
AfDB.
° Reinforcement and responsibilities accorded
to the FCEM Secretariat and International
Office
of Geneva.
° Reinforcement of the FCEM/FFA
partnership
° Develop a new adaptation strategy for the
FCEM-CandGo Platform for enterprises
°
The opening of FCEM to sponsors.
° Reinforce FCEM –
International Organisations partnerships and cooperation
° Call for candidates for the
« FCEM/FFA
Prize», for a woman entrepreneur, for the
conference
on Francophone Businesses, to be held in Bucharest, Romania.
° Call for massive participation
at the World Congress November 24 – 28 in Cairo,
Egypt
3rd International Meeting of the
Francophone Regions (AIRF) February 8 to 10, 2007 at Bamako, Mali
Under the patronage of His Excellency
Amadou Toumani Touré, President of the republic of Mali, February 8 to 10, 2007
in Bamako, Mali the 3rd International Meeting of the Francophone Regions was
organized by the International Association of French speaking regions, at the
invitation of the High Counsel of Collective Territories (HCCT), on the theme «
Enterprising in the francophone region».
Among the high level speakers
were Thierry Cornillet, President of the International Association of French
Speaking Regions, whose speech was followed by that of His Excellency Abdou
Diouf, Secretary General of the International Organisation of the Francophone,
and the opening speech which was pronounced by His excellency Amadou Toumani
Touré, President of the Republic of Mali presenting on the topic The assets and
the condition of local development representing the two subjects central to the
meeting.
The FCEM World President Françoise
Foning took an active part in this major event for exchanges and actions, where
she participates at the round table held on the subject of enterprises and
entrepreneurship in French speaking regions of the world.
Numerous political and economic
decision makers, development professionals, financial and economic
organizations, highly recognized university professors and scholars, renowned
experts participated from the divers French speaking countries and regions:
Rhône-Alpes, Senegal, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Burkina- Faso, Italy, Quebec,
Côte d’Ivoire, Laos, France, Vietnam, and Morocco.
6th International Congress of the
Community of Nations for the Peace, organized in Paris December 15, 2006
held under the theme: "Liberty and peace
through sustainable development" at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France.
FCEM World President Françoise Foning who is as well the deputy mayor of Douala
was invited as a special guest in her double capacity by the International
Observatory of the Community of Nations for Peace, and organization of the
Department of Information of the United Nations. The World President was
requested to inform on the situation in Cameroon, presented on the theme
"Women’s economic independence in Africa and in developing countries". Among the
distinguished participants at the congress included: Sashi Tharoor, United
Nations Assistant Secretary General, Albert Konan-Koffi President International
Observatory for Non-Violence, Jean-Pierre Bugada Communications Director United
Nations Information Center, Paul Durieu Mayor and Member of the Board of
Director of the Association of French Mayors. During the closing ceremonies of
the congress, Françoise Foning, FCEM World President was presented with the
coveted "Golden Dove" 2006 award of the Community of Nations. The award for 2005
was bestowed to Hillary Clinton.
Bureau International FCEM-Geneva,
General Assembly Constitutive, November 18, 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland,
the FCEM World President Françoise Foning, in
implementing her plan to reinforce the presence and representations of the world
association, in particular to assure the place of FCEM among the leading NGOs,
organized and presided over the Constitutive General Assembly of the Bureau
International FCEM-Geneva which was held on November 18, 2006 in Switzerland.
Present at the meeting were in addition to the FCEM President, Colette
Schreiber, Ingrid Vanore-Speer, Philine Read and Aminata Kasse. The voices of
Etta Carignani, Enée van Assche and Reyne Cienzo were represented by mandate.
The agenda points covered by the General Assembly included: the adoption of the
meeting agenda, the designation of the president and secretary general of the
séance, the reading and approval of the statutes, the election of the executive
committee and the discussion of other issues.
7 th Forum EMA INVEST, in Geneva,
Switzerland, November 11 to 14, 2006. Organised by the Emerging Markets Foundation at the center for
conferences, under the theme "Financing Africa". FCEM World President Françoise
Foning took this opportunity to meet the representatives of public and private
sector financing institutions and the principle foreign investors and the major
entrepreneurs from the emerging markets and to furnish information about the
mission, actions and members of FCEM. The forum provided the venue for high
level discussions with the numerous heads of state and ministers on the subject
of attracting foreign investment and assuring that the conditions for
accelerated growth are in place.
54 th FCEM World Congress, October
2006, Ljubljana, Slovenia, organized by Marta
Turk President of the Slovenian association of women entrepreneurs GIZ
PODJETNOST, under the theme: «The future belongs to the enterprising»
Participating countries included : Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil,
Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Democratic Republic of Congo,
Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guinea, Iceland, Italy, Latvia,
Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Romania, Russia, Senegal, South
Korea, Switzerland, Tunisia, USA.
FCEM Congress Official Inauguration on
October 24 was held at the House of Parliament, commencing with the traditional
FCEM Flags Ceremony. Participating were numerous distinguished guests including,
Franc Susnik President of the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia,
Luciano Borin Director of the Private Sector department of the African
Development Bank, Joako Cuk President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of
Slovenia. Among the expert speakers were: Guriqbal Singh Jaiya, Director of the
WIPO SME Division, Joelle Roge from WIPO, Dinah Bennett W.I.N, Great Britain,
Maria Cristina Pedicchio from Italy, Bola Olabisi from BAWE Great Britain
presenting Women Inventors, and Adalheidur Karlsdottir, FKA Iceland.
Highlights of the congress included:
The declaration of the 54 th FCEM World Congress of Ljubljana; Naming of new
members of the FCEM Steering Committee: Tatjana Hine, BAWE President, FCEM Vice
President, and Micheline Briclet, President FCEB, Special Commissioner for
Technology and Development; FCEMC Monaco became a full FCEM member; The national
associations of women entrepreneurs from Brazil, Luxembourg and Latvia presented
their associations and requested membership in FCEM; The Yvonne Edmond Foinant
biennial prize was attributed to the Slovenian association GIZ PODJETNOST; Each
participant received a personalized parchment "Certificate of
Participation"
FCEM organizes a strategic conference
and partnership programme during TourismAfrica September 2006 at Palexpo,
Geneva, Switzerland.
FCEM took an active part in the grand
international Forum TourismAfrica 2006, organised by S.B.M. (Strategic Business
Meeting S.A) September 10 to 15, 2006 at Palexpo, Geneva,
Switzerland.
During two days - the 14th and 15th of
September - that were dedicated to the world association, FCEM organised a
conference and animated workshops and a partnership marketplace on the global
theme: « Promoting and reinforcing of the initiative of women entrepreneurs for
the development of African tourism».
The FCEM World President Françoise
Foning in her opening speech underlined the need to intensify the strategies of
partnership, cooperation and communication between the women entrepreneurs of
the five continents to benefit from and participate in the development of
African tourism, and the preservation of African patrimony.
The Minister of Tourism of Cameroon
pronounced welcoming and encouraging words, El Hadj Baba followed by a
presentation given by Laura Frati Gucci, AIDDA President, Italy and FCEM
Vice-President.
The conference programme included
animated discussions and enriching interventions given by different African
Ministers of Tourism, Environment, and Culture, experts from financing
institutions, NGOs and other competent authorities during the strategy defining
panel chaired by Ingrid Vanore-Speer, Former United Nations Director and
Principal Advisor on Gender and Trade.
Dagmar Steinmetz, CEO DDS Consult
G.m.b.H., Germany and President of the international section VIT of the German
Association of women entrepreneurs VdU presented the project Dual Training for
the development and training of Tourism sector human resources. A presentation
on « Information and Communication Technologies» was provided by Micheline
Briclet, President of FCEB Belgium, who gave an overview of the FCEM-CandGo,
Stratinfo Platform and the applications of ICT and the Internet serving the
needs of associations and the individual entrepreneur.
At the side of President Françoise
Foning, were members of the FCEM Steering Committee, including Etta Carignani,
FCEM Secretary General and Regional Commissioner for Europe, who presented a
document on the role of women in tourism in general and notably in Africa.
Premier FCEM Trophy of Honor bestowed
to the First Lady of Tunisia, Leila Ben Ali.
Tunisia celebrated National Women’s
Day with grand fanfare August 13, 2006, feting the 50th Anniversary of the
promulgation of the Personal Status Code, one of Tunisia’s cornerstone
legislations that abolished all discrimination against women.
FCEM was present for this
landmark celebration. Françoise Foning, FCEM World President headed a delegation
of members of her steering committee, among whom were Leyla Khaiat FCEM Honorary
President with Mandate, Etta Carignani FCEM Secretary General, Reyne Cienzo FCEM
Vice-President, and special invited guest Ingrid Vanore-Speer, Former Director
of the United Nations and Senior Advisor on Gender in Trade Development, to the
events organized to celebrate this occasion.
The International Cultural Center of Hammamet
was the venue for the celebration, which was marked by the bestowing upon Madam
Leila Ben Ali, wife of the Chief of State of Tunisia, the Premier FCEM Trophy of
Honor for actions that favor the empowerment of women in economic development.
The FCEM Trophy of Honor is an innovation of the mandate of Françoise Foning who
was invested as FCEM World President in October 2005.
Through this distinction, the FCEM World
President aims to honor the personalities the world over who have illustrated
through their noteworthy work on the behalf of women, and through their active
support in the empowerment of women as entrepreneurs and actors in economic
development.
On September 28, 2006, FCEM World President
Françoise Foning was honored at the Tunisian Embassy in Cameroon, at a special
ceremony where she received a commemorative photo album of the event from the
First Lady of Tunisia Leila Ben Ali.
Forum FCEM/ACP July 7, 2006, at the ACP
Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium
FCEM which regroups in its network of members
and friends over 60 countries from the five continents, counts at least 17
countries of the ACP (countries in development from the regions of Africa, the
Caribbean, and the Pacific), organized in collaboration with Micheline Briclet
and the members of the Belgian association of women entrepreneurs FCEB in
Brussels July 7, 2006, a Forum FCEM/ACP. During this important meeting, FCEM
provided an overview of its mission and its organisation and presented its
ongoing diverse projects, programmes and activities, including: access and
utilisation of ICT, the promotion of micro-credit ; the development of the
network of women entrepreneurs and lobbying activities targeted at the
international institutions. The Forum centered on introducing FCEM to the
extended European Union institutions permitted FCEM to establish important
contact and relations with the representatives of the ACP-EU space and beyond,
including : the ACP Secretariat, CDE Center for the Development of Enterprise,
PROINVEST ACP-EU development programme, European Commission, European Investment
Bank, EuropeAid, EBCAM- European Business, Council for Africa and the
Mediterranean, BIO Belgian Investment Organism for 120 developing countries for
the financing of SMEs, and the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The FCEM World President Françoise Foning, who
gave the opening speech and who presided over the debates, was accompanied by
FCEM Vice-President Dior Diop of Senegal, as well as by Micheline Briclet
President FCEB, Chantal Lobert President AEMfe (FCEM
Micro-Credit programme) and Tereza Hägerström-Danan of the FCEM Secretariat
Tunis who made presentations on the subjects of: the reduction of the digital
divide through a pilot programme for the training in Internet technologies (the
FCEM-CandGo Platforms) supported by the African Development Bank in partnership
with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the FCEM association members
from the ACP countries and Stratinfo developer of the Internet platforms ; the
reduction of poverty through the establishment of an FCEM micro-credit structure
AEMfe (European micro-credit association for women entrepreneurs); the FCEM
WEWIN (Women Entrepreneurs ‘’Window of Opportunity’’) for the reinforcement of
the sustainability, the capacities and the competence of the FCEM national
associations and the individual woman entrepreneur.
Enriching debates followed and contacts
consolidated with certain already bearing fruit. As a result of the Forum, the
ACP proposes that FCEM organise a workshop on November 14, 2006 on the theme «
Promotion of ACP women in business » at the ACP Secretariat in Brussels,
Belgium. The fund BIO proposes to explore the interest of FCEM members for their
financial instruments for SMEs from the 120 countries eligible for the BIO
development fund.
Global Summit of Women, June 9 to 11, 2006 in
Cairo, Egypt. The FCEM World President Françoise
Foning in giving support to the efforts of the president of the Egyptian
association of women entrepreneurs EBWA, member of FCEM, Dr. Amany Asfour who
organized in conjunction with the US company Global Woman this annual event
called ‘Global Summit of Women’. During the summit, the FCEM World President
Françoise Foning was received by the First Lady of Egypt Suzanne Mubarak who
expressed her desire that the 55th FCEM World Congress be organized in Egypt.
FCEM World Committee, April 29 to May 3, 2006,
Seoul, South Korea: « Cooperation and integration for shared prosperity and the
growth of FCEM ». Organised by the Korean
association of women entrepreneurs, KWEA, and presided over by Françoise Foning,
FCEM World President, the World Committee of Seoul attracted the participation
of a great number of persons, an estimated 700 women entrepreneurs from the
delegations of FCEM members and friends, coming from the four corners of the
globe, including from: China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Mali, Indonesia,
Azerbaijan, Japan, Thailand, Bangladesh…
The FCEM World President gave strong speeches,
encouraging and inciting women entrepreneurs to take up the challenges of
globalisation and international trade. Participants at the event taken by the
charisma and leadership of the World President called Françoise Foning
"The Nelson Mandela for Women Entrepreneurs".
In parallel to the FCEM meetings, the events
programme proposed a wealth of activities : conferences, an exposition fair, a
partnership programme, a charity auction to raise financing for the creation of
enterprises by handicapped women. The World Committee was furthermore honored by
the presence of invited special guests and speakers including the First Lady of
South Korea, the President of the Grand National Party, the Mayor of Seoul and
the Director of the private sector department of the African Development Bank.
OECD Global Conference on Sustainable
Development 27 to 30 March 2006, Brasilia, Brazil:
Lidia Angeli, President of OAME Argentina and
Vice-President FCEM, represented FCEM at this important international event.
Numerous representatives and members of government, and women entrepreneurs from
over eighty countries participated. The banking institutions, the members of
government and the SMEs present were called upon to better cooperate and to
converge their points of view on the importance of the SME in sustainable
economic development. At the close of the conference, the «Declaration of
Brazil » on the financing of enterprises and SMEs was promulgated. These
recommendations aim to encourage banks and governments to reinforce their
relations with SMEs and to favor their access to financing.
Celebration of International Women’s
Day March 8 organized by the French Minister of Cooperation, Paris France.
FCEM World President Françoise Foning
participated as an honored guest and speaker at the Round Table debates on the
Contribution of Women to Development" organized at Bridgette Girardin, Minister
of Cooperation held under the honored presidency of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
President of Liberia. Among the estimated over 200 invitees special
guests and speakers were women ambassadors to France from Kenya, Ethiopia, South
Africa and Mozambique. FCEM members participating included Colette Schreiber and
Micheline Briclet.
The FCEM World President speech
addressed the theme « Women and Enterprise» and in particular in terms of
micro-finance as a factor for reducing poverty. The World President reminded
that in addition to micro-credit, that focus should also be placed on
instruments for the creation and expansion of SME. The event offered FCEM the
opportunity to reinforce its relations with the president of the French
Employers Union MEDEF, Laurence Parisot, who reiterated her support for the new
FCEM World President and with Danielle Rousseau, President of the French
businesswomen and managers association Dirigeantes. President Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf, has requested FCEM’s assistance for the creation of a national
association of women entrepreneurs in Liberia. World President Françoise Foning
will be following up with the Minister of Cooperation who has voiced her wish to
strengthen relations with the FCEM.
FCEM-KAGIDER International Forum and
Steering Committee February 11 to 15, 2006, Istanbul, Turkey. Held under the theme « FCEM convergences : Women Entrepreneurs
and the challenges of globalization». The Turkish association of women
entrepreneurs KAGIDER in collaboration with the FCEM Secretariat in Tunis,
organized in record time and with great fanfare the first Steering Committee for
the new President of FCEM Françoise Foning in Istanbul, Turkey. In parallel, the
opportunity was seized for an international forum with special invited guest
speakers, the former Minister of State in Charge of women’s and family affaires,
the vice governor of Istanbul, and the president of the SMI (Small and Medium
Industries) Development Organization. Françoise Foning and the members of the
Steering Committee as speakers provided an overviews of FCEM and shared their
wealth of experience in particular on the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship
in their respective countries. During the Forum, the Turkish association KAGIDER
was proclaimed a full member of FCEM and the FCEM Recommendations of Istanbul
were promulgated and distributed. In conjunction with the event on February 14,
a workshop under the theme « FCEM Priority FCEM ICT » was held at the KAGIDER
headquarters where Micheline Briclet provided orientation and training for over
fifteen KAGIDER members on the FCEM-CandGo Virtual Offices Internet Platform.
FCEM congratulations to new President
of the AfDB, visit of FCEM President to Tunis December 12 to 13, 2005.
The FCEM World President came to Tunis in
order to consolidate the relations of FCEM with the African Development Bank as
well as to preside over the work of the FCEM Secretariat in Tunis. The FCEM
World President seized the occasion of being in Tunis and in meetings with the
AfBD to request a private interview with the new President of the AfDB Donald
Kaberuka of Rwanda to congratulate him and assure him of the continued support
and partnering with FCEM. In this spirit, the FCEM Secretariat is and continues
to work in close collaboration with the private sector department at the bank
for the realisation of a proposal for a regional programme for institutional and
technical capacity building for national associations and the adaptation of ICT
CandGo (the proposal is designed to be replicated in all regions of the world).
Signature of a partnership accord
between FCEM and FFA November 29, 2005, Paris. A partnership agreement was signed on November 29, 2005 between the Forum
Francophone des Affaires (FFA) represented by its President Steve Gentili and
the FCEM represented by Françoise Foning World President.
The ceremony took place in parallel to
the 4th Congress of the Association of Francophone Ombudsmen and Mediators
(AOMF), held under the theme : « Mediator, interpreter of expectations, actors
in reform". Organised by the Mediator of the Republic of France, Jean-Paul
Delevoye, in collaboration with Frédérique Calandra, Mediator for the city of
Paris, with the participation of over forty delegations from 30 different
countries of the world, as well as numerous special invited guests, academies,
attorneys, scientists, and French and foreign personalities among which, in
attendance was a large delegation of FCEM Steering Committee members and women
entrepreneurs members of FCEM from several different continents. The Congress
was held November 28 to 30 at the National Assembly and the Paris City Hall and
came to a close with the event of the signing of the FFA-FCEM partnership accord
which links the two associations together around common interests.
The partnership agreement signed
essentially is focused on the creation of a common ideal and unique space for
the reinforcement of exchanges and sharing of inter associative best practices
between FFA and FCEM. The accord offers members of the two associations the
opportunity : to exchange business experiences, practices and ideas; to explore
trade opportunities; to undertake changes in common ; to facilitate access to
sources of financing ; to access new technologies and techniques; to get to know
the different business cultures; to develop other international contacts, to
nurture international friendships; to reinforce communications between country
members notably by means of networking and access to ICT.
FCEM participation at the World Summit
on the Information Society
November 14 to
19, 2005, FCEM participated actively and visibly at WSIS held in Tunis, and
which attracted some over 20,000 participants.
Thanks to the engagement and hard work
of Leyla Khaiat, FCEM Honorary President, the members of the National Chamber of
Women Entrepreneurs of Tunisia (CNFCE), Micheline Briclet CandGo and the FCEM
Secretariat Tunis, FCEM was able to assure its presence and participation under
the theme FCEM : « Priority ITC « as an exhibitor with CNFCE in the exposition
Hall ICT4ALL to present the CandGo Platforms and Web Sites of FCEM members in
particular the members of CNFCE, and to organize a parallel event in the form of
a Round Table on the topic « The Internet for a new equitable economy».
The Round Table was opened by an
address from Françoise Foning FCEM World President and welcoming words from
Leyla Khaiat FCME Honorary President. Participants and distinguished speakers
and guests of the round table who gave presentations encouraging women's
participation and integration into the digital age, included : Maria
Pia Fanfani President « Together for Peace Foundation » ; Etta Carignani,
Secretary General FCEM ; Dr. Sonia Mabrouk Professor HEC Carthage ; Dr. Leila
Mokadem Private Sector Department of the AfDB; Ilana Cohen, General Manager
Women On Line Israel ; Annie Orini, Sofia Annapolis, France ; Micheline Briclet
CandGo, Stratinfo ; and Douja Gharbi member of CNFCE. A message from Princess
Hissa El Sabah, CAWBO (Council of Arab Women Business Owners) President was
read. The recommendations of the round table
included to redouble and reinforce efforts for activities being implemented in
particular the expansion throughout the four corners of the globe of the
integration and utilisation by the National Associations and the individual
woman entrepreneurs of the ICT tools of the FCEM-CandGo Internet platforms for
Associations and Entrepreneurs.
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