Shirish Paranjape
Christchurch, November 19, 2024
The Canterbury Show weekend saw over 50 women from the Ethnic Community come together for an Ethnic Women’s Forum, organised by Dharma Yodha New Zealand at the Multicultural Recreation & Community Centre.
Objectives of the Event
The event started with an ice-breaker, followed by a presentation by Geetha Kopparapu – secretary of Dharma Yodha New Zealand – on the objectives of the event, which are:
- Understand the challenges and barriers faced by ethnic women in leadership roles
- Identify the unique strengths and perspectives that ethnic women bring to the table
- Develop strategies to foster a more inclusive and equitable workplace
- Empower ethnic women to reach their full potential.
Participant Emily Verhoeven, originally from Kenya and a Trustee at Multicultural Recreation & Community Centre said, “It is good to see this ethnic women leadership initiative at Christchurch.” She added that was looking forward to the mentorship and networking possibilities.
Panel Discussion
The main part of the event unfolded thereafter. Five women leaders shared with the audience snippets of their journey. These presenters included:
- Cybelle Freitas Souza, IT Delivery Lead, Radio Presenter and Writer. Originally from Brazil.
- Meeta Gulati, Operations Manager.
- Dr Sunita Gautam, Community Board Member.
- Sivaranjani Shivsubramaniam, Senior IT Analyst and Entrepreneur.
- Dr Geeta Singh, Obstetrician and gynaecologist.
After these very inspirational presentations, each of them with some unique messages, these five women panellists answered the questions from the audience at the Q&A session.
After a refreshment break, it was time for Panel two, comprised of:
- Dr Hamsa Ahmed, MNZM, Founder of Lady Khadija Trust.
- Dr Viviana Zannetti, Community Development Advisor, Christchurch City Council.
- Mohini Vidwans, Associate Dean, Lincoln University.
A third panel session included:
- Pavithramaduram Ravi, Artistic Director, Yoga teacher, Sound Bath, Retreat Facilitator.
- Reshma Shetty, Business Development Manager Advisor (Financial Advisers)
- Sahera Laing, Mental Fitness Consultant.
At the end of the day, participants felt that it was valuable to listen to all the stories and experiences of such a diverse range of ethnic women. The organisers Dharma Yodha New Zealand said they will strive to bring such events to the community in future.
The event was supported by the Ministry of Ethnic Communities and other sponsors.
Shirish Paranjape is a Christchurch Correspondent of Indian Newslink. The photographs appearing here were supplied by him.
