The distinctive International Women’s Forum (IWF) brings together more than 7,000 diverse and accomplished women from 33 countries, including the Caribbean islands of The Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, all dedicated to building better leadership locally and globally. The Trinidad and Tobago Forum’s (IWFTT) core purpose “To unite, inspire and celebrate accomplished women. To advance exemplary leadership, while learning from and supporting each other, and empowering the next generation of women leaders”, is fuelling its plans to expand its activities.
In pursuit of a key component of its core purpose to empower the next generation of women leaders, the IWFTT recently hosted a meeting for members and their invited guests who are high potential future female leaders. The event provided the opportunity to gain insights from “seasoned” female leaders who shared their leadership journeys which left the young leaders feeling inspired and committed to taking deliberate actions to steer their career paths while at the same time feeling assured by the common threads of issues that are faced by all women.
In her opening remarks, IWFTT President Rani Lakhan-Narace stressed the importance of “I” in IWF stating that “The “I” in IWF does not only stand for International but also for Impact and Influence.” She reinforced the need for women who have risen to the top of their various fields to in-turn use their positions to positively influence and impact the next generation of women leaders. Lakhan-Narace emphasised that “success is a journey not a destination” and the audience had the opportunity to hear highlights of the HER-stories of three IWFTT members, Indu Sharma, Roxane De Freitas and Arlene Chow. Everyone described the event as “empowering, uplifting and inspiring” as both members and guests shared experiences, exchanged ideas and debated various aspects and challenges of their leadership odyssey.