'We Need To Break Our Own Barriers, Feel The Fear And Do It'
JEDDAH: The Saudi Arabia Business and Professional Women Association (SBAPW) Wednesday launched a WTO related event dubbed "Are You Ready?"
Princess Seeta Bint Abdullah and a number of Saudi and foreigner businesswomen from parts of the world such as Bahrain, Lebanon, Kuwait, Morocco, UAE and Saudi Arabia attended the event.Officials from the American consulate in Jeddah such as Erin Eddy, public affairs officer and Erin Walsh, Manager for International Strategies and Partnerships Program and the adviser of the Middle East issues at the US consulate in Jeddah also attended the event.
The SBAPW is a non-profit organization based in Jeddah and aims at allowing Saudi businesswomen and professionals to network and advance their careers, and grow their businesses.
"This association is considered to be the voice of Saudi working women in the Kingdom," said Sameera Bitar, the organization's founder. The association aims at showing and discussing the challenges for growth facing businesses and professional women in the region, she assured.
The SBAPW aims to be the vehicle by which business and professional women can safeguard their business and professional interests.
"We are the network that will enable Saudi women to develop their business and advance their careers," added Bitar.
Erin Walsh also addressed how the Arabian women are well qualified and how they were presented as pioneers in what they had been achieving. "Arabian women showed interest in such organizations; some of them have been going on in them for the last five to six years, while the others are just starting their way."
Fawaz Al-Alamy, senior deputy minister of commerce and industry and the chief Saudi WTO technical negotiator addressed the topic of the vision for sustainable growth in a post WTO environment.
"Saudi Arabia took 10 years to join the WTO and had to sign 982 papers, while Kuwait joined the organization during 1952 when it was a British protectorate; they signed one paper that had two lines only."
He also noted that there were major principles and benefits after Saudi Arabia became a part of the WTO. "It was questionable why Saudi Arabia wasn't part of the WTO before when it has all the qualifications," he added.
The SBAPW's mission is to strengthen the wealth creating capacity of the members next to promoting economic development. "We want to create innovative and effective changes in business and professional culture as well as transforming the public policy and influence opinion," said Afnan Al-Zayani, Bahraini businesswoman.
"I started working with my brothers in their company 17 years ago. After I gained experience I established my own company, business does not need money and education it needs experience and hard work," she added.
The event also focused on the how to gain success as being the tipping point between trying and giving up. It discussed the kind of infrastructure needed to empower women and youth of the MENA region.
"We need to break our own barriers, feel the fear and do it anyway," said Rolla Dashti, Kuwaiti businesswoman who nominated herself during the previous Kuwaiti elections. The association wants to encourage the creation of professional networks and to promote the businesswoman's professions. "We need to increase knowledge and skills through training and education," assured Bitar.
By Shroog Talal Radain and Sabahat F. Siddiqi
© The Saudi Gazette 2006
