Bilbao hosted the Spain-India Women's Dialogue on Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Social Impact and the Bilateral Women's Meeting organised by the Spain India Council Foundation, which took place on October 30 within the framework of the 2015-2016 India-Bilbao programme. The event was co-organised by Deusto Forum, sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs and Cooperation and attended by the FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO).
The Spain-India Women's Dialogue on Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Social Impact took place at Deusto University's auditorium and was structured around three consecutive sessions: The role of women in politics and public administration: agents of social change, Therole of women in the business world: inspiring entrepreneurship in the generations to come and The role of women in civil society: leadership in a challenging world. The goal of this Dialogue was to promote the exchange of ideas andencourage future cooperation among women from the two countries. Various economic, social and cultural events were also organised for the Indian delegations within the 2015-2016 India-Bilbao programme with the support and cooperation of different institutions from the Basque Country.
Among the public figures who attended this Dialogue, organised by the Spain India Council Foundation, were the Ambassador of India, Vikram Misri; the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mari Aburto; the Chairman of Deusto Forum, José Luis del Val; the CEO of HSBC India and former President of FICCI, Naina Lal Kidwai; the Secretary of State for R&D, Carmen Vela; the Chancellor of Deusto University, José María Guibert, and the Chairman of SICF, Antonio Escámez. There were also several organisations from India and Spain who shared their views at the Dialogue, such as the Spanish Federation of Progressive Women, the Association of Women Entrepreneursand Executivesof Bizkaia, Women CEO and the Department of Innovation and Technology of the Regional Basque Government.
SICF Chairman Antonio Escámez expressed his gratitude for the institutional support enjoyedby this event. The Mayor of Bilbao welcomed the chance to learn about India and better understand its society and culture, as well as opening a door for India to the city of Bilbao by showcasing its innovative, cosmopolitan, open nature. The Ambassador of India to Spain referred to the important work carried out by the Foundation in enhancing mutual understanding by addressing issues that are often overlooked. Naina Lal Kidwai, CEO of HSBC India, expressedFICCI's desire to celebrate further events to explore shared interests and Unai Rementería, President of the Regional Council of Bizkaia, emphasised the role of institutions in bringing about change and making the matters addressed at the Dialogue a reality.
More pictures in the Gallery
Agenda of SICF's Dialogue available through this link
Profiles of Indian panellists available throughthis link
Follow the event on social media with the hashtag #DiálogoFCEI and SICF's profiles on Twitter and Facebook
