Alicante Futura and the Friedrich Naumann Fundation for the Freedom gather 150 expert women in digitalization.

Alicante, 15th of December of 2022. Alicante Futura has celebrated this Thursday in the Contemporary Art Museum of Alicante (MACA) the first technologist women congress “Euthenia 2022: The Mediterranean Executive Women Conference”. This event, driven with the Friedrich Naumann Fundation for the Freedom and with the colaboration of Casa Mediterráneo, has gathered more than 150 professionals with the objective of connecting the feminine talent of the region.

Euthenia 2022 has been inaugurated by the mayor of Alicante, Luis Barcala; the chief executive president of the Local Agency of Development of the Alicante Local Government, Mari Carmen de España; Odilia Abreu, senior Project manager of the Naumann Fundation for the Freedoom; Eva Díaz, Euthenia coordinator and David Henneberger, director of the Naumann Fundation for the Freedom.

The congress has had experts of the digitalization sector and the new technologies such as María Arribas, CMO in QALEON; Gracia Sánchez del Real, CEO of Infinity Group; Celia Sánchez, CEO de 1MillionBot y Marcela Fernández, AEPA president whoever, thouth different panels and topics, has tackled matters related to workplace and technological field of the woman in the current situation.

During the inauguration, Luis Barcela has highlighted the fact that Alicante once again becomes a benchmark for innovation and digitalization being home to the bigest meeting of technologist women of all the Mediterranean, because we can’t lose talent, especially the one offered by women, because only 10 percent of them achieve higher positions in technological companies. We need all women and men to pull in the same direction. We are bringing to light model women and succsess cases to inspire girls to study technological degrees and progress to a social transformation in which we are all embarked”.

De España has pointed out that “for Alicante and all the innovative ecosystem we are developing in the city is very important to meet here benchmark women of all this technologocal situation from the Mediterranean and being abel to show and boost all that talent and underline the role they play in the develop of the technological companies through their experience”. 

Euthenia 2022 tries to promote and to bring to light some steps focused in the work-life balance, just like assist the women hiring in general or in specific group and the support and financing of proyects by entrepeneur women. “This congress opens us the doors to share, to discuss and to think about the best practices, experiences and solutions that highlighted the value and the result of the feminine work. All that since the institutional congress and the economic freedom such as the one we are driving for our society with the maximun guarantees and securities in the judicial framework related to equality”, add the president of the Local Agency of Development of the Alicante Local Government, Mari Carmen de España.

Refering to the program, during the day different round tables were held divided into four panels on themes related to the workplace and technological field of women in the current panorama.

In one hand, the success panel has focus the discussion in the different challenges of the mediterranean woman in the technological sector. Sefora Marcelle Kodjo, president of the board of directors in SEPHIS Foundation; Lola Franco Valerom partner in Scale Up; Rokhaya Solange Mbengue Ndir, head of relations with the digital ecosystem in Sonatel and Esther Sánchez, head of Innovation and Digital Factory in Vodafone.

Along the round table, the four speakers has shared their career, just like the different challenges and needs they have been finding themselves along their careers. Moreover, they also have underlined the power of the digital field as a startegic sector in the fight against the gender gap and the importance of giving to new generations the information and tools for a correct training in the digital and technological area.

During the second discussion, the speakers have embarked the work inclusivity and the drive of more equal enviroments for women. In this corporative panel, Maria Arribas, CMO in QAELON; Paula Álvarez-Couceiro, prospective analyst and strategic division in Navantia; Maira Barcellos, head of Nielsen in Spain and Portugal and Ana Martín, general manager of a Biomedical Engineering company, have contributed with their vision of the equality in the workplace, moving each point of view to the places they work.

In addition, there was a discussion about the situation of the women in a global view in the oganizations, which they lay on the table the difficulties women have to fight in the current society to achieve a high position, and the need to establish and drive equal politics and steps in every organization to fight and eradicate the inequanity in the companies of the current ecosistem.

Afternoon schedule

By the other hand, the third round table embarke in the afternoon sesion the gender disparity in technology, with Beatriz Arias, head of Operation in Solid Nets in Europe, Gracia Sánchez del Real, CEO of Infinity Group and Fatoumata Niang Niox, executive president in JokkoLabs, with the eye focus in the education and the importance of it as a tool to figth the gender gap.

The last panel focused in the political field and the local digitalization as an attraction of international talent. In this round table Inés Soyah, coordinator of Wsterwelle Startuo Haus Fundation, Mari Carmen de España, city councilwoman of Employment and Promotion of the Alicante local goverment and Marcela Fernández, head of AEPA, discuss about the attraction of feminine talent in those jobs of the technological sector in the big cities.

This I Congress “Euthenia 2022: The Mediterranean Executive Women Conference”, finish with the speach of Celia Sánchez, CEO of 1MillionBot; Beatriz Arias, COO in Solid Nets in Europe and Eva Díaz, CEO of Apogeo Digital and founder of Shaping the New, who have exposed their successfull cases as pioneer women in the technological sector.

Networking in Torre Juana

The congress also has had a networking day before last day where all the participants could exchange ideas and opinions, just like general synergies and to visit Torrejuana in colaboration with Celia Sánchez, CEO of 1MillionBot. More people joined this visit such as the city councilwoman of Employment and Promotion, Mari Carmen de España; Eva Díaz, Euthenia coordinator y Valeria Sinisi, in charge of the proyect Mediterranean Dialogue in FMF Madrid.

Torre Juana es un espacio patrimonial histórico que alberga una de las 22 torre refugio de la huerta de Alicante, de finales del siglo XVI, igualmente fue una de las bodegas del fondillón, el vino alicantino mítico presente en todas las cortes europeas y recogida en la literatura de Dostoyevski, Shakespeare, Alejandro Dumas…

Torre Juana is a historical heritage space which keeps one of the 22 refuge towers of the vegetable patch of Alicante, from late XVI century, the same way it was one of the fondillón winery, the representative wine of Alicante preseted in every european court and included in the literature of Dostoyevski, Shakespeare, Alejandro Dumas…

At present Torre Juana is a hub specialized in Artificial Intelligence that works and manteins agreements with international institutions with the objetive to promote the internacionalization of technologic companies -specially the ones related with IA-. Among its objectives is to promote the flow of talent and knowledge and establish professional networks that make exchange and collaboration possible in internationalization processes.

Source: https://www.alicante.es/es/noticias/alicante-celebra-primer-congreso-mujeres-tecnologas-del-mediterraneo