Women's Day Lunch 2022

For this special occasion, we welcomed more than 80 guests who were able to discuss, debate and exchange about women's empowerment and equity in business. 

In the sumptuous hotel that is the Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam, this Lunch was the perfect opportunity for our guests to gather and network, while honoring this peculiar and far-reaching day.   

We would like to warmly thank Emmy Stoel and the Grand for welcoming us again this year. We especially want to greet her professional and dedicated team that made this Lunch exceptional. Mrs. Stoel reminded us of the chance we had to be gathered in this historical and artistic place for celebrating such an unique occasion that is the International Women’s Day. 

This year, we were honored to have Reina Flor Okori Makendegue as Keynote Speaker: a 4 times Olympian with over 20 years on the track representing France and Equatorial Guinea. Reina-Flor granted us a speech about her personal and professional life. 

Starting competition at the age of 13 years, Reina-Flor's life is not only a story of talent and dreams but also of hard work, passion and resilience. Reina-Flor's words were earnestly touching and inspiring and truly embodied female leadership. She also gave us her personal vision of what sport is : fairness.   

‘How do you go from being an outsider to becoming a leader ?  
First you have to be the best in your country. If you want to become an Olympian, you need to be the first, the best in what you do. Not second, not third as there can always be a discussion but first. Because, when you are the best, there is no discussion : that's the rule! And I really love that in sport: you are the first, you participate’.  

Sport is what allowed Reina-Flor to discover what the words ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’ really stand for.

In competitions, as well as in trainings, they represent the art of living and working together as a team. That is to say: a mix of multi-talented personalities which share a common goal : victory.  

Furthermore, Reina-Flor proved us that sport not only relies on physical skills but also requires mental skills & strengths.  

Having suffered four major injuries during 7her career, she nevertheless became a great champion and won multiple prices, becoming a pride both for France and Equatorial Guinea as well as a source of inspiration to all dreamers: 

'Always believe in your dreams and become the reason of your successes' & ‘You can always reach your goal despite obstacles’ . 

This is a great lesson that we should always keep in mind and use in our everyday life. But there is always a duality between achieving our goals and their results. As she underlined it, you can achieve your goals but what always matters in the end is your well-being. 

Focusing on and rising the importance of mental and physical health in sport, Reina-Flor ended her speech by adding that titles certainly do not define who we truly are, they are just springboard.  

‘Step in tone to go forward and more on faster, stronger’

To conclude, we would like to warmly thank all parties for being present and sharing their energy and time with us. The event couldn’t have been the success it was without you !   

You can find the pictures we took during the Lunch in the photo gallery below.   

We hope that you enjoyed this 14^th edition and to see you numerous next year for the 15^th edition !  

Email: reina-flor.okori(@)olympian.org  

Website: www.reina-flor.co  

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reinaflorokori/?locale=en_US