In March 2023, the first WE Convention took place in Dubai. Its main topic was women, entrepreneurship, and success stories. More than 100 female speakers attended it. We talked about everything: success criteria, ways to juggle motherhood and career, building your own business, developing projects in new regions, and difficulties women face in big business. The conference brought together thousands of attendees, as it also offered the opportunity to ask questions to world-famous speakers.
The list of the March WE Convention speakers
- Natalia Vodianova, supermodel and philanthropist;
- Mila Semeshkina, founder of the Women’s Empowerment Council, which hosted the conference;
- Her Highness Sayyida Basma Al Said;
- Tatyana Bakalchuk, founder of the Wildberries marketplace, the largest in the CIS countries;
- Maye Musk, model, writer and entrepreneur;
- Renata Litvinova, actress and director;
- Sophia Swire, venture capitalist;
- Dr. Eng Suaad Al Shamsi, aircraft engineer;
- Juhaina Al Muhairi, UAE air traffic controller;
- Businesswomen Samar Alshorafa, Nadine Mezher, Latifa Bin Haider, Masha Levin, Daniela Baumann, Elena Antonova, Andrea Abrams, Leila Hurstel, Lynn Elliott Young, Stephanie Bretonnier, Saba Yusuf, Xinyi Tong, Rosheen Ngorima, Marianna Bulbuk, Oksana Balayan, Emanuela Al Khalifa, Natalia Miranchuk, Ida Beerhalter, Dr. Asmaa Al Fadala, Jeanne Kahn, Haifa Addas, and Elena Cardone;
- Amanda Steinberg, writer;
- Dr. Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro and Belinda Lee, producers;
- Amna Al Qubaisi, Emirati Formula driver;
- Nelly Attar, rock climber;
- Aisha Al Mansouri, aircraft captain;
- Alena Tkach, publisher;
- Elina Landman, psychotherapist;
- Natalie and Murad Osmann, founders of the FollowMeTo project;
- Sabinije Von Gaffke, TV presenter;
- Loujain Adada, actress;
- Seda Kasparova, vocal coach;
- Lara Palmer, World Arabia editor-in-chief;
- Ayumi Moore Aoki, Forbes Business Council representative;
- Mikayel Vardanyan and Jordan Shapiro, businessmen.
The women on this list are the best in their fields. They run their own businesses, become the first Arab women to fly planes, invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in promising tech projects, and more. The WEC speakers combine careers with raising children, meeting friends, and travelling. And they are doing it effortlessly! Not surprisingly, the participants of the March conference had questions about how they manage to do this. And the speakers shared their secrets of maintaining balance and lightness in trying times.
The WE Convention startup scene
In addition to the speakers who participated in public talks on the main stage of the WE Convention, the conference organisers invited female entrepreneurs to talk about their projects on the startup scene. On this stage, Daria Kamkalova, founder of Venturing Women, and Melda Akin, founder of startups D14.AI and Sirius Labs, delivered public talks about the future, technology, artificial intelligence and the role of women in the world.
UAE Senior Senator Lucy Chow, Global Ventures Senior Partner Medea Nocentini, DANA Global Co-Founder Katie Wachsberger, Veritas Ventures Founder Vera Futoryansky, and the aforementioned Daria Kamkalova also discussed the gender gap in investing and how to bridge it. Sophie Smith, the founder of Nabta Health, shared her experience of combining motherhood and entrepreneurship and told the conference guests about the secrets to maintaining a balance between major areas of life.
Mashal Waqar, Managing Director of Milestone Ventures, shared her thoughts on creating and designing the communities of the future, while Fatemeh Abdollah, founder of Zarela, inspired women to change and use their differences for the benefit of a personal brand. Pamela Durant, founder of Diapoint, explained what it takes to become a great entrepreneur and not get bogged down in day-to-day operations; co-founder of Sippy Beans Shehzeen Jamil Rehman told about the history of creating her coffee business; co-founder of Essence Elina Valeeva introduced the girls to the concept of FemTech.
We also talked about turning brand communications into unforgettable marketing messages with Elena Zhigalina, Director of Brand and Communications at zolar. We discussed starting your own business from scratch with venture capitalist Lara Varjabedian, MeatoDoor founder Ambrin Khan, the founder of ETZ, Aron Technology and TeacherX Dr. Işıl Boy Ergül, and the founder of Cosmic Centaurs Marilyn Zakhour.
Who will be the speakers at the Dubai WE Convention in November 2023?
The Women’s Empowerment Council will hold the second WE Convention in Dubai in November 2023. Participants will have an opportunity to hear speeches from such contributors as Her Highness Sayyida Basma Al Said, business speaker and writer Irina Khakamada, serial entrepreneur Sara Al Madani, aircraft engineer Dr. Eng Suaad Al Shamsi, Mastercard EEMEA representative Andrea Prazakova, Minerva Project founder and University of Minnesota chancellor Ben Nelson, Duolingo Global Social Media Manager Zaria Parvez, Microsoft Egypt CEO Mirna Arif, LME Global director and neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath, biotechnology specialist and businesswoman Saba Yusuf, and more. Of course, Mila Semeshkina, founder of the Women’s Empowerment Council, will also make a presentation.
The WEC organisers
The event won’t be possible without the Women’s Empowerment Council community. This global organisation is dedicated to supporting women in their careers and business, helping them become better, get all necessary skills, and launch their own businesses. This is why they holds events, seminars and workshops and provide access to courses on the Lectera educational platform. The Women’s Empowerment Council’s mission is to offer its members inspiring role models to look up to and resources to realise their goals and potential.
If this resonates with you, join the Women’s Empowerment Council by filling out a form on the company’s official website.
