L-R: Outgoing President of The NETWORK Marie Louise Ashworth; incoming President of The NETWORK Mariana Florea; Credit: Jazmin Campbell

On Wednesday evening, The NETWORK, Luxembourg's oldest international professional business women's association, held its annual general meeting (AGM), followed by an in-person event dedicated to cross-cultural awareness at Anderson Wise's office in Silversquare Liberté in Luxembourg-Gare.

AGM

In addition to presenting its various reports (including the financial and auditor’s reports), The NETWORK elected its new Board for 2022/23:

  • Mariana Florea, President
  • Christine Impens, Treasurer
  • Muriel-Hélène Buchet, General Secretary
  • Carol Rech, Auditor
  • Danijela Hebat-Meyer, Events Director
  • Lisa Smits, Membership Director
  • LaTasha Baker, Communications Director

Marie Louise Ashworth, who served as President of The NETWORK between 2018 and 2022, thanked the outgoing Board and Committees for their commitment over the past year. "Leading The NETWORK, as your President for the last four years and with two previous years as Events Director, has been an honour and a pleasure. I thank the Boards, Committees and members for entrusting the leadership of this incredible association to me", she stated. "As I pass the reins to Mariana Florea, I look forward to seeing more exposure of The NETWORK to other international networks, leading more discussions, providing examples on how to implement changes at the corporate level and becoming the pillar of any future successful interactions and advocacy".

Incoming President Mariana Florea, who had previously served as Treasurer, thanked her predecessor for her "incredible work in the service of women in Luxembourg" over the past four years and expressed her excitement as she embarks on this "new journey" within The NETWORK.

The NETWORK currently counts over 100 active and honorary members.

Cross-cultural awareness event

The AGM was followed by an in-person event dedicated to cross-cultural awareness. The NETWORK member Françoise Falisse facilitated this event, which brought together around 30 to 40 people. Through this interactive workshop, attendees explored and discussed cultural biases and stereotypes, how they are often deeply rooted in one's beliefs and behaviours and how they can impact one's personal and professional relationships in a multi-cultural environment.

In her presentation, Ms Falisse particularly emphasised the need to go beyond cultural stereotypes, to raise cultural awareness, to build trust in others and trust onseself and to foster more inclusion through diversity. She also presented some of the steps to take to achieve these goals.

In small groups, attendees shared their own experiences with cultural biases and what cultural dimensions they would use to leverage cultural differences in the future.

In her capacity as a certified executive, intercultural and life coach, trainer and certified consultant of the Method of Colours, Françoise Falisse also delivered a brief presentation of the Cultural Orientations Framework (COF) assessment, a development tool that facilitates the understanding of salient cultural characteristics for individuals, teams and organisations. The NETWORK will organise a separate webinar with Ms Falisse for attendees wishing to explore this tool in more detail.

The presentation and discussions were followed by networking over drinks, sponsored by Anderson Wise.

Past President Marie Louise Ashworth recalled that The NETWORK is always looking for volunteers with a range of skills to join its Board and Committees.