MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Location: file:///C:/510255D3/Natividad-OpeningRemarks.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" Natividad - Opening Remarks

Global <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Summit of Women 2= 007 Remarks<= /b>

IRENE NATIVIDAD
OPENING CEREMONY - STATEMENT

 

      = ;      WHAT A PLEASURE TO SEE ALL OF YOU HERE IN BERLIN FOR THE 2007 GLOBAL SUMMIT OF WOMEN.  IN THE 17 YEARS THA= T I HAVE BEEN ORGANIZING THIS SUMM= IT, I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH A LARGE NUMBER OF ECONOMIES REPRESENTED – 95 IN ALL.  WE ARE 1000 STRONG FROM = ALBANIA TO GUATEMALA TO CHINA TO ZAMBIA.=   IN FACT, EVERY CONTINENT IS REPRES= ENTED HERE TONITE.  <= /p>

I INVITE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU TO= TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE RICHNESS OF CULTURES IN WHICH WE FIND OURSELVES AND TO EXP= AND OUR LEARNING AT THIS SUMMIT BEYOND CAREER AND BUSINESS GROWTH IMPERATIVES TO SIMPLY GETTING TO KNOW SEVERAL NATIONS THROUGH THE VERY PERSON SITTING NEXT= TO YOU AT A SESSION, STANDING NEXT TO YOU IN LINE, SHARING A MEAL OR SITTING I= N A BUS AS YOU WILL WITHIN THE HOUR.  IT IS A LEVEL OF LEARNING THAT IS SO PRECIOUS IN A WORLD THAT NEEDS MORE SUCH OPPORTUNITIES TO PREVENT CONFLICTS OFTEN BRED OUT OF ISOLATION AND IGNORANCE.  HOW FORTUNATE YOU = AND I ARE TO BE IN A TRULY GLOBAL SETTING FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS.  BUT TO EXPERIENCE THIS CULTURAL RICHNESS, YOU MUST OPEN YOURSELF TO IT AND REACH BEYOND OUR COMFORT ZONES.<= o:p>

      = ;      SO, WHO’S HERE?  WELL, LET ME SHARE WITH YOU THE   LARG= EST DELEGATIONS.  FIRST PLACE GOES TO MY HOME COUNTRY= , THE UNITED STATES, FOR BRINGING THE LARGEST GROUP TO THIS SUMMIT.  SECOND PLACE GOES TO THE UNITED KINGDOM FOR THE FIRST TIME.  CLOSE BEHIND IS VIETNAM, LED BY ITS VICE PRESIDENT FROM WH= OM YOU WILL HEAR SHORTLY, WHO BROUGHT TO BERLIN A DELEGATION OF 61 ALONG WITH 5 MINISTERS.=   FOR THE RECORD, THIS IS THE VICE PRESIDENT’S THIRD SUMMIT.  COMING IN AT FOURTH PLACE IS FRANCE WITH 41 DELEGATES AND FIFTH PLACE GOES T= O CHINA W= ITH A 33-PERSON DELEGATION.  I SHOUL= D TELL YOU THAT THE VERY LARGEST GROUP THAT IS NOT A COUNTRY THIS YEAR COMES FROM A COMPANY – PFIZER, TO BE EXACT, WITH ITS 123-MEMBER DELEGATION FROM SEVERAL NATIONS.

      = ;      GOVERNMENT LEADERS ARE ALSO HERE – 49 WOMEN MINISTERS TO BE EXACT WHO LEAD DEPARTMENTS AS VARIED AS FINANCE, EDUCATION, ENVIRONMENT AND OF COURSE, WOMEN’S AFFAIRS.  YOU WI= LL MEET THEM TOMORROW NIGHT WHEN THEY INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AT THE GALA DINNER.=

            WHETHER FROM CORPORATIONS, GOVERNMENT= S OR BUSINESS

ORGANIZATIONS, ALL OF YOU HERE ARE LEADERS WHO WILL TRANSFORM THE 2= 1ST CENTURY ECONOMY WORLDWIDE, BECAUSE YOU’RE ALREADY DOING SO.  IN ONE GENERATION, WE MOVED FROM A POPULATION OF WOMEN WHO WERE FAR LESS EDUCATED AND REPRESENTED IN THE WORKF= ORCE THAN MEN TO A 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE THAT IS NOW 40-50% FEMALE WORLDWIDE AND GROWING.  IN EUR= OPE AND NORTHERN AMERICA, WOMEN ARE NOW THE MAJORITY OF COLLEGE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS AND THAT TALENT BASE IS EAGER TO = TAKE ON MORE OF THE TOP JOBS IN THOSE FIELDS.&n= bsp; ACCORDING TO THE ECONOMIST, MORE WOMEN THAN MEN ARE TRAINING AS  DOCTORS AND LAWYERS IN THE = UNITED KINGDOM

      = ;      AS A RESULT, WOMEN ARE NOW THE MOST POWERFUL ENGINE OF GLOBAL GROWTH IN THIS CENTURY.  THE INCREASE IN WOMEN’S EMPLOYEMENT, WHETHER IN EUROPE OR IN A= SIA, HAS BEEN THE MAIN DRIVING FORCE OF GROWTH IN THE PAST COUPLE OF DECADES.  EVEN THOUGH IN EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD, WOMEN ARE STILL NOT PAID AS MUCH AS MEN, THEIR ENTRANCE INTO THE PAID WORKFORCE HAS INCREASED THEIR PURCHASING POWER, WHILE CREATING NEW MARKETS = FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES, ONLINE RETAILING, HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION THAT DID NOT EXIST BEFORE.

      =       WHAT THIS PATTERN HAS SHOWN IS THAT UNDERUTILIZATION OF WOMEN STUNTS ECONOMIC GROWTH.  MORE WOMEN IN THE WOR= KFORCE CAN HELP TO OFFSET THE EFFECTS OF AN AGING, SHRINKING P= OPULATION  THAT JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ARE NOW FACING.&nbs= p; A REPORT FROM THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM CLEARLY SHOWS A CORRELATION BETWEEN GENDER EQUALITY THRU ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION, EDUCATION, HEALTH AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND THE RISE IN GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT PER HEAD.  &n= bsp;            = ;   

      = ;      THE SIMPLE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT EDUCATING GIRLS BOOSTS PROSPERITY.  IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT.  WHICH IS WHY WE DISTINGUISH THIS SUMMIT WITH A FOCUS ON YOUTH.   IT IS THEY WHO WILL TRANSFORM THIS CENTURY.  FOR THE GIRLS IN THIS COUNTRY ALON= E, THEIR GENERATION ASSUMES THAT ANY WOMAN CAN BE THE CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY= .  THAT ONE FACT ALONE WILL INFLUENCE= HOW THEY VIEW WOMEN’S ROLES IN THEIR LIFETIME. 

      = ;      YOU SEE, THE LEADERSHIP THAT WOMEN BRING TO THIS NEW CENTURY IS ONE OF REDEFINITION.  WOMEN COME TO LEADERSHIP AS OUTSIDERS TO THE STATUS QUO.=   I TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THE GREAT ADMIRATION THAT I HAVE FOR THE WOMEN= OF THE WORLD WHO GOT THEMSELVES EDUCATED DESPITE BIASES AGAINST GIRLS BECOMING LEARNED, WHO STARTED BUSINESSES WITHOUT HAVING ACCESS TO LOANS, WHO SPRANG = TO LEADERSHIP OF MAJOR BUSINESSES WITHOUT THE SUPPORT AND THE CRITICAL MASS OF ROLE MODELS WHO COULD HAVE SHOWN THEM WHAT TO DO. 

      = ;      WHAT OUTSIDERS LIKE US BRING IS A CLARITY OF VISION, AS WELL AS A SENSE OF DISCO= VERY AND INNOVATION.  THE BUSINESSE= S WE CREATE ARE OFTEN THOSE THAT NOONE EVER THOUGHT OF BEFORE.  THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT THE DIFFICULTIES WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED IN SEEKING RESPECT AND REPRESENTATION IN E= VERY ARENA OF PUBLIC LIFE IS THAT IT HAS GIVEN US THE STEEL AND THE STRENGTH NEE= DED TO EMBRACE INNOVATION.

      = ;      WHAT WE WOMEN IN THIS ROOM HAVE AND THOSE OUTSIDE THIS ROOM IN OUR RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES IS THE FIRE IN THE BELLY THAT BREEDS THIS WILLINGNESS TO TRY ANOT= HER ROUTE, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT PART OF THE STATUS QUO THAT IS IN POWER.  BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE, WE ALREADY HA= VE POWER – THE POWER TO CREATE NEW JOBS THROUGH THE BUSINESSES WE ESTABL= ISH;  THE PO= WER TO MAKE A CORPORATION FLOURISH THROUGH THE WORK THAT WE BRING;  AND THE POWER TO FUEL THE ECONOMIE= S OF THE WORLD WITH THE PURCHASES THAT WE MUST MAKE FOR OUR FAMILIES AND THE WORKPLACES OF WHICH WE ARE A PART.  REMEMBER THAT WE MAY NOT YET BE AT THE TOP, BUT WE HAVE THE POWER TO DECIDE WHO WILL BE AT THE TOP.

      = ;      SO AS YOU ENTER THIS SUMMIT, SHARE WITH EACH OTHER THE IDEAS THAT YOU HAVE TESTED AND FOUND TO BE SUCCES= SFUL WHETHER YOU ARE A GOVERNMENT MINISTER OR A CORPORATE MANAGER OR AN ENTREPRENEUR.  REMEMBER= THAT WOMEN’S GOALS OF EQUITY CANNOT BE REACHED IF WE DO NOT REACH BACK AND PULL ANOTHER WOMAN UP THE LADDER AS WE OURSELVES SUCCEED.

      = ;      REMEMBER ALSO THAT LEADERSHIP COMES WITH OPTIMISM, AS A STUDY HAS REVEALED.  LEADERS COME WITH A SENSE OF POSSIBILITIES, OR AS WRITER ONCE SAID:&nbs= p; “THE OPPOSITE OF A LEADER IS A PESSIMIST.”  OPTIMISM MEANS A SENSE OF CHANGE A= ND HOPE.  IN OTHER WORDS, IT̵= 7;S NOT ENOUGH TO ENVISION CHANGE IN THIS COMING CENTURY, YOU MUST SEE YOURSELF= AS THE AGENTS OF CHANGE.  DONR= 17;T JUST LOOK TO GOVERNMENTS OR CORPORATIONS OR THE POWERS THAT BE TO CREATE THE CHANGES THAT WE NEED TO ARRIVE AT EQUITY.&= nbsp; LET US LOOK TO OURSELVES FIRST;  LET US LEAD THAT CHANGE.  AFTER ALL, NO ONE EVER GAVE AWAY POWER.  WE HAVE GOT TO GRAB IT= FOR OURSELVES.