NEARLY 160 businesswomen from all over Kerry attended the event ‘Agents of Change-Empowering Women through Education’ last night, at the Ballygarry House Hotel and Spa.
The event was held in advance of International Women’s Day, and was jointly hosted by Kerry Businesswomen’s Network and the European Parliament (EP) office in Dublin.
It was one of the first events to populate the Enterprise month calendar which is organised by LEO Kerry (Local Enterprise Office) Kerry and CEED (Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Development) based in the ITT Kerry.
The seminar featured keynote speakers Deirdre Clune MEP and Deirdre Bounds – Accidental Millionaire and ethical entrepreneur.
The evening was a huge success as the female audience heard Deirdre Clune MEP discuss the many pathways currently been undertaken by the EP with regards to educating women through empowerment.
She outlined the challenges ahead at EU level in order to eliminate gender disparity in education and training. Deirdre also addressed the issues around getting “the right mix” when introducing change in education across Europe.
Deirdre firmly stated “Our role as female legislators in the European Parliament is to encourage the women of Europe to stand together to promote an equal, just and fair society across the world. Equality is more than an abstract concept. It is access to education, opportunity and freedom of thought, identity and expression.
Deidre Bounds, Accidental Millionaire and ethical entrepreneur, left the audience in no doubt that she had endured every aspect of the rollercoaster life one would expect as an entrepreneur.
Deirdre lives in the UK and revealed her story, of how a young girl daughter of Irish parents from Kerry, grew up in a tough housing estate in Liverpool, and went from being an active alcoholic to an English teacher in Asia, an outback bus-driver, stand-up comedienne, wife, mother and finally self-made millionaire.
She spoke about setting up her travel company i– to–i.com, in the beginning of the nineties. After 10 years it became the world’s greatest gap year company and she sold the firm to a FTSE 100 company in 2007 for about £20 million.
Deirdre talked about her eureka moment, drawing the plans for her future business, her zany ideas and her zest for fortune and accomplishment.
However, staying true to her roots she related the many trials and tribulations she encountered along the way. Deirdre not only revealed her successes but also the failures.
She described herself as a huge pile of passion, with masses of mistakes, with a will to make it happen; all of this she combines with a sense of humor. In true entrepreneurial spirit Deirdre also announced that she has just launched her new business “Go Cambio”, which is now based in Cork.
Scroll down for photos…
