Making lifelong friends in Brisbane with Pacific Connect

Enthused.  Excited.  So happy!  Those were just a few of the emotions that rushed over me after I had to re-read my email of acceptance into the ICDP Pacific Connect Women Entrepreneurs Dialogue.

I didn’t really know what to expect to be honest, going into this Dialogue.  I read up on as much as I could in preparation for this. To be fair, the ICDP comms team were so thorough in providing all the necessary information we needed for the day.  All we were expected to do was show up.  Literally and figuratively!

The first evening was a casual cocktail night.  A meet & greet so to speak.  I met a few of the ladies that night, but it wasn’t until Day 2 where the real work started!

From the moment we stepped into that room, everything was so well structured and organised.  The atmosphere was so welcoming and inviting.  The ice breaker conversations from the night before enabled us to greet each other without any hesitation at all.  It had a real lovely, Pacific feel to it.

The story telling worked a charm as it let down a lot of invisible guards and the candidates involved were able to lean in and contribute to the conversations at hand.

I admired the mere thought of the small things that were put behind every notion.  That is how you could tell this event was carefully planned from start to finish.  From our name tags being put next to other entrepreneurs in similar workspaces with similar values in operations to having a mixture of different businesses and representatives from different islands, we were able to cover a broad range of topics in a short span of time.

By the end of the second day, I already knew I had made lifelong friends and partnerships in business.  More importantly, I met like-minded people willing to work hard to promote the Pacific and all the wonderful talents we acquire as a collective.

This dialogue has opened so many opportunities for our enterprises to thrive in our small nations and beyond.  This just goes to show that although we are a minority in the wider world, we are not insignificant.  Irrespective of population density, our people, our families and our health does matter.

Thank you ICDP for the opportunity to learn, network and experience with you all.  It was enjoyable, fun, interactive, not to mention, very informative.