Monique Weber

From a young age I have a passion for creating circumstances in which human beings can develop their full potential and thrive. This has become a central thread in all I do, both in my professional life in Human Resources, but also in the Women’s Network that I founded with some colleagues in 2013, and certainly in my volunteering work for Feminenza. My experience in working with women and men all over the world is that the resilience in people is enormous and that change is always possible if people are open to new learning, understanding and experience.

In my role as STEM & Philantrophy Officer for AEWN I have the lead for the organization of Girls Day at AT&T Locations. After successful events in 2015 and 2016 we will be organizing Girls Day in 11 locations across the EMEA region in 2017. Girls Day is an annual event in some EMEA countries where girls are invited to visit a technological company to experience and learn about the advantages of choosing an education and career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Feminenza is an international women’s network which globally operates in 18 countries. The network champions the long-term development of women, their understanding of themselves and their roles in leadership and society, to help establish a more humane and peaceful world. We also work to improve partnerships between the genders as one of the fundamental keys to building peace in the minds of humanity, and resolving poverty, disease, war, terrorism and environmental degradation.
Since the establishment of Feminenza in 2000 I was engaged in delivering workshops for women in the Netherlands about confidence, how to better understand and deal with emotions, how to increase self esteem and the different stages of development for the feminine gender. From 2012 I serve as the Chair of Feminenza Kenya and in this capacity was involved in the delivery of programmes, such as the 1-year training programme in the Rift Valley of Kenya (partially funded by UN WOMEN) which trained 20 women leaders from different locations in the Rift Valley to become Forgiveness and Reconciliation Counselors. In 2015 and 2016 I was co-leader for 2 successful consultancies provided for Global Communities by Feminenza Kenya: 1) for 60 community leaders from the informal settlements of Nairobi: Kiambiu, Kibera, Mathare, Korogocho, Mukuru, Dandora, Kengemi, Eastleigh and Majengo), in the context of the ‘Kenya Tuna Uwezo’ programme in the context of Countering Violent Extremism, 2) for 30 by Gender Based Violence highly traumatised girls/young women from the Majengo informal settlement in the context of the DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-Free, Mentored and Safe) initiative.

In 2012, Feminenza Kenya was granted special consultative status with ECOSOC, (the Economic and Social Council of the UN), recognizing our expertise in the field of the Advancement of Women.