De Wereldwijven
'De Wereldwijven' is a network of Dutch-speaking women who live or work in different parts of the world. Five women, in four different countries and in three different time zones developed the online platform www.dewereldwijven.com about two years ago. In the mean time, it has grown into a network of more than 100 women, living and working in all corners of the world.Last year I attended the ‘Wereldwijven’ symposium in Amsterdam and I am very proud to be part of this network since then! What I like about this network is that all women have their own unique story on why they travel or decided to travel or to (have) live(d) in another country. All women have experienced how it is like to live or work in another country. Since 2013, several women of the network have been writing inspiring stories about their daily lives for LINDAnieuws.nl.
Book
Last year, the first 'Wereldwijven' book with 27 portraits of pioneering Dutch women who live in another country was published. The foreword was written by Lilianne Ploumen and the royalties from this book were donated to SheDecides. Of course I am a big fan of SheDecides and to my mind the book was really inspirational. Every time when I read it, I feel like booking a ticket and travel again! De Wereldwijven decided to publish a second book this year. This edition is focusing on women with their own business and I was very honored when I received an e-mail with the question whether I would be interested to be part of it!
The book consist of 35 portraits of women who share their own personal story of setting up their own company. The book is structured in 35 chapters, in which each women answers different type of questions, including: What is your motto for life? What were your main obstacles when setting up your business? Did you encounter any resistance? Who inspires you? What was an absolute highlight? What does success mean to you? Which achievement are you most proud of? What advice do you want to give others? This way, you can read through the book from chapter to chapter, but also from question to question, which is really nice
en Desiree Murks gave presentations about social entrepreneurship and. Afterwards, a discussion was organized with several women who shared their experiences setting up a business abroad, and Jennifer Joedo chaired the sessions. In the afternoon we had time for drinks & delicious food. It was so nice to meet many of the other women featured in the same book!
The book (in Dutch) entitled 'Bedrijf van een Wereldwijf' can be ordered here.
Event
The 25th of October, the book was launched during an event in Amsterdam. The title of the event was (in Dutch) 'Van dromen naar doen', which means loosely translated 'Making your dreams come true'. The location of the symposium was the same as last year: A Beautiful Mess in the former Amsterdam Bijlmer Bajes (a prison in Amsterdam). A Beautiful Mess is an initiative of the Refugee Company, a foundation whose mission is to empower people with a refugee background.
Monique Teggelhove from Mali, Lisa van Roode from Thailand.
