On 10th of March in Amsterdam, we celebrated International Women’s Day by participating in the Vital Voices Global initiative of Mentoring Walk, an event designed to demonstrate the power of women’s leadership.
Once again Polish Professional Women in the Netherlands was privileged to organize the Global Mentoring Walk, an initiative launched in 2008 by Geraldine Laybourne to empower young women professionals in the United States.
The Global Mentoring Walk is a remarkable initiative taking place on the same day in several countries around the world in celebration of the International Women’s Day.
Last Saturday, had over 14,000 women participating in 143 walks in 59 countries – the largest year yet! Only here in Amsterdam, 40 mentors and 40 mentees came together to participate in this special event. Mentors and mentees shared their challenges, experiences and their personal stories. Our mentors were people with extensive experience in a certain company or industry, who shared their knowledge and practice with younger colleagues.
Raising awareness about mentoring is a key tool for personal, professional and business development. The event brought together men and women professionals creating a lasting network of role models for the mentees.
The day started in early afternoon with a registration and great panel discussion about mentoring from Lars Ros, Nienke van Bezooijen, Agnieszka Gradek and Anna North-Row. Our panelists were participating as mentors in Global Mentoring Walk 2018 edition. We also heard a story of impact from mentee, Magdalena Brzostowska. She gave some tips to the mentees and told us how the last year walk changed her life.
The panel discussion was followed by the walk in a beautiful forest of Amsterdam.
At the end, each mentor and mentee made a finger print leaf on the #PressForProgress finger print tree and received a traditional Forget-Me-Not in a can. A humble plant has a rich history of meaning behind it.
The Global Mentoring Walk was closed with a networking session, where all mentors and mentees could connect with others and grow their network.
Polish Professional Women would like to thank all the mentors who encouraged participating mentees to reach their potential and recognize their talents. Thank you mentees for walking with us.
Remember, mentoring is a key tool for personal, professional and business development. Together we can create a new network of role models. #PressForProgress
Below you can check out the photos! The meeting was captured by our great photographers: Anna Pujer and Kasia van Schip-Giska – thank you!
