IWF Cornerstone Conference Dublin, May 2003

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IWF CORNERSTONE CONFERENCE DUBLIN, MAY 2003

Rain, rain and more rain for days - and then, on a pre-arranged cue from the Irish Forum of IWF, the clouds parted. With some further assistance from the home side, the sun finally broke through and shone on the coaches rolling through Dublin's lush Phoenix Park and into the grounds of Farmleigh, the Irish state guesthouse, for the first event of Ireland's Cornerstone Conference - a welcome reception from our country's illustrious President, Mrs Mary McAleese. A great omen for what turned out to be a great conference.

After an opening address from Karen Erwin, President of the Forum and Chair of the conference, Mrs McAleese, who is our patron, spoke movingly about the status of women in our increasingly divided world, a speech which featured on Ireland's national news bulletins on radio and television that evening. She was thanked by IWF world president, Luz Lajous, before joining us to chat in the conservatory of this historic house, once owned by the Guinness family.

From then on it was go, go, go - entertainment, serious business, friendship, networking, contacts, learning and laughing. After Farmleigh, the more intrepid of our members and guests cros sed the city to Taylor's Three Rock, where we ate, drank, and as the night wore on - and inhibitions wore off - swayed and sang along with the traditional Irish band, and stamped our feet in an effort to out-perform the beat of the virtuoso (and very loud) player of the bodhrán: this is a hand-held goatskin drum, the origin of which is lost in pre-history.

Business proper began early next day, with all sessions packed and crackling and the revelation of two Irish initiatives, The Power Research Project - a report on the position of women on corporate Boards in Ireland and The Leadership Initiative: in cooperation with public and private bodies, the aim of this is to research, and then enrich leadership in Ireland, with a particular focus on increased participation by women.

Delegates were spoiled for choice in the formal sessions: after a riveting plenary session with three extraordinary and inspirational women, Gill Rider (Accenture), Judge Maureen Clark of The International Criminal Court and Moya Doherty, one of the most successful women showbusiness entrepreneurs in the world, delegates divided for workshop sessions on Corporate Governance, New Technology, New Models of Wealth Creation and Icon Toppling, all led by serious and successful women committed to the principles of IWF.

Over lunch we were addressed, frankly and thoughtfully, by the woman editor of Ireland's leading newspaper, the Irish Times, whose managing director is also a woman, and then, in a coup for our conference, we again convened in plenary session for an international seminar on a subject of vital interest in our fracturing world. "Vital Voices" brought together some of the leading women involved in the fashioning of the Good Friday Agreement and the ongoing Irish peace process, each with a different, sometimes opposing, standpoint and experience.

And then - the treat! Pauline Bewick, one of Ireland's leading visual artists, enthralled us with a presentation of her work and a vivid, sometimes side-splitting account of her highly unorthodox life. ( A quote from her mother: "Pauline, you're a genius, you don't have to do the washing up. You paint!" Mothers all over the room and for the rest of that day were heard to wish aloud that they had been THAT type of mother! Or, more crucially, that they had HAD that type of mother!)

As always with IWF, the dinearounds that evening proved to be a highlight for everyone.

Tricia Crisp, IWF Ireland Vice President; Luz Lajous, IWF President; Mary McAleese, President of Ireland; Karen Erwin, IWF Ireland President; and Gemma Hussey, IWF Ireland Founding President

Saturday morning saw a presentation on re-inventing our lives and then, that night, we all gathered for a final celebration in the cool, architecturally brilliant Millennium Wing of our National Gallery, where Mary Harney, Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland - and one of our founder members - was the keynote speaker and where we were entertained by two of Ireland's leading classical musicians.

So we laughed in Dublin, we kept to time, we hugged (a lot) we learned, considered, were stimulated and somehow managed to fit in tours and shopping. Oh how we shopped!

The outcome of this Cornerstone was that we left each other refreshed, with great memories and with determination renewed. The reaction, formal and informal, we in the Irish Forum have received since saying good-bye has been overwhelmingly of congratulation and delight.

Thank you so much to those who came, we really enjoyed your company. And to those who didn't make it this time, sorry we missed you.

So now it's on to Toronto. See you there!!!

Click here to Read Remarks by President McAleese