2006

T he Netw ork New sletter Janu ar y 2006 International Business & Professional Network asbl (Established 1991)

The Network asbl B.P. 2304 L-1023 Luxembourg e-mail: getintouch@the-network.lu website: http://www.the-network.lu

Preside nt's Letter

Dear Network members In this first letter from me for 2006 I wish all of you a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

Whatever resolutions you may have made, I hope you are successful in keeping them. Better still, don't make any, and you can't disappoint yourself!

January is also the start of each Network year, which means that your annual subscription fees are due. The committee considered that it was time to raise the annual fees, which have been constant for some years now, to EUR 35. These fees can be paid via either of our bank accounts: Banque de Luxembourg LU580080 5333 3500 1003 or CCP LU54 1111 1100 0810 0000.

Please make sure that if someone else makes the payment on your behalf that your name is mentioned somewhere as in the past we have had some difficulties matching payments to members! At the same time can I urge you all to update your membership profile on our website, making sure that all the details we hold are correct and uploading a photo if you have not already done so. From the link http://www.the-network.lu/MyPage.php you enter your log on details and check and amend your own details on line.

A new year also brings a new committee! The AGM of our association will take place on the 22nd March, at which at least four committee members will be stepping down, either because their three years' on the committee are up or for other reasons. OUR association cannot function without the involvement of its members, so if you have a little time that you could devote to our group, then do not be shy about putting yourself forward. If you are unsure of what role you could fill, please talk to me or any other committee member.

With that, I look forward to seeing you all at our next meeting on Wednesday 25th January at the Sofitel, when Network member Martiene van Dijken will talk about "Buying or building a house in Luxembourg".

If this newsletter reaches you in time, please also tune into the Corner Cafe on Ara City Radio on Thursday 12th January on 103.3 or 105.2, when I (and hopefully one or two other Network members!) will be chatting to Deb Anderson about the Network.

With best wishes Ruth

Editor's Notes Au t h o r : L i s a M c L e a n Happy New Year from the the desk of the editor.

At the Amcham-Network luncheon which took place in November Ruth Springham did some networking on our behalf with Business Review journalist Margaret Ferns. Margaret mentioned that Business Review was planning an article on gender equality in the January issue. Ruth was asked to answer some questions on behalf of the Network. I have included the questions and the commitee's answers in this newsletter as they were given to Margaret; obviously only some of the information was included in the magazine. Many of you will have read the Business Review article, but for those who haven't it is in newsagents now and is an interesting read. Thanks for the initiative Ruth.

Busin ess Review 's Questions a nd An sw ers from T he Netw ork Commitee

1. In your opinion/experience do businesses in Luxembourg accept that gender diversity leads to increased profitability?

This question starts from the premise that gender diversity leads to increased profitability, and while some research has shown this to be the case, it is not a hard and fast fact. It would seem in Luxembourg that in the banking and finance sector most companies make a real effort to employ a balanced ratio of men to women certainly at the start of the career path. However, this 50:50 ratio is not maintained as people move into their 30s and 40s resulting in the lack of women at higher managerial levels. Whether this then means that businesses do not see gender diversity as leading to increased profitability or whether the drop out is due to other factors is not an easy scenario to untangle.

2. According to statistics, only 16% of top managers in Luxembourg are women. Why do you think there are not more women bosses?

If it is the case that 16% of top managers in Luxembourg are women this is probably a fairly “good” figure for women to have reached in comparison with other countries! A recent article in the FT magazine suggested “women account for fewer than 14% of Fortune 500 directors and 10% of FTSE 100 directors. In the biggest western European companies women account for only 8% of board directors and just 5% of top managers, the layer from which future directors are most likely to be drawn.”

Some of the stumbling blocks relate to the following question, and other factors can include that the price to be paid to make it to the top appears too great for women, women put quality of life high on their list of priorities, that the boardroom culture is in some way alien to them and leads to a feeling of isolation among women.

Also the commitment/travel/ extra hours expected of male or female employees in the private sector has reached a stage, that it is very difficult for a two career household with children to make the commitment required to both their employers.

3. What needs to be done to change this situation?

Perhaps the first thing that needs to change is the general work ethos in many companies, before any gender changes can be made. If questioned many men would probably admit that if possible they would rather be able to work less hours and shoulder some of the burden of childcare. However, the expectation of global companies is now “more” rather than “less” commitment from male and female workers. Long hours, antisocial hours, evening meetings, weekend work, intensive travel demands, 24 hour client culture – all of these may be more of a turn off for women than men Other points would include an acceptance of the valid contribution from women and men choosing to work on a part-time basis; the acceptance of women as the main bread winner and father as stay at home parent - in the recognition that a two career household with children is very stressful and requires huge backup support.

While Luxembourg provides a reasonable allowance for parental leave and good childcare facilities are available in the early years, school hours and facilities or their lack of (canteens, after-school clubs) are another obvious stumbling block.

More analysis such as that carried out at PWC to ascertain what underlying reasons lie behind the fall out rates for women, ie why are companies failing to retain their female employees who they presumably hired as they recognised their potential?

More support for entrepreneurs could be offered; many women in Luxembourg have given up great jobs in their home country to come here as “trailing spouses”, therefore a wealth of untapped knowledge and skills is available. Policies are needed which make it easier and more worthwhile for people/women to start-up their own businesses.

Upc oming Netw ork Events B u y i n g o r b u i l d i ng i n L u x em b o u rg ?

The New Year is a time for resolutions and planning, it is well known however that the best plans are enacted successful when well researched. Therefore those thinking of this year taking the step from renting to buying property in Luxembourg will be interested in the The Network’s upcoming meeting “Buying or building in Luxembourg?”. Network member and estate agent Martiene van Dijken offers guidance and tips on what to do and what to avoid in Luxembourg’s housing market. “. Belgian architect Rita Dooms-Vasn Parys, will also be on hand to answer questions.

The Network meets at the Sofitel on Wednesday the 25 January at 7.30pm; meetings are open to non-members.

New s from France Au t h o r : E c o n o m i s t O n - l i n e Angela Merkle and now this - a Royal president?

French feminists had reason to celebrate in September, when two female politicians declared an interest in running for president in 2007. Ségolène Royal, the Socialist head of the Poitou-Charentes regional government, explained that her tentative candidacy was conditional on her party's support (there is a glut of Socialist candidates) and that of her partner, François Hollande, the Socialist Party leader, who was reportedly surprised by the announcement. Although some pundits believe Ms Royal has a chance of securing the top job, her statement has been met with some odd, seemingly chauvinistic criticism. “But who would look after the children?” asked Laurent Fabius, a former prime minister and candidate for the Socialist Party leadership.

Days later, Michèle Alliot-Marie, France's first female defence minister, tossed her hat into the ring for the nomination of the ruling UMP party. “It is clear that I will take part in the presidential debate,” she said, positioning herself against Mr Sarkozy and Dominique de Villepin, who usually dominate conversation about future presidents from the UMP. France has never had a female president, and women are woefully under-represented in politics. (Edith Cresson was prime minister in the early 1990s, but that is not an elected post.) Just 71 of the 577 National Assembly deputies are women, a smaller percentage than in Afghanistan's assembly.

When two is not enough To increase France's birth rate, the government has announced financial incentives to encourage more women to have a third child. From next July, the social security payment to mothers with a third child will rise from €512 ($618) a month over three years, to €750 a month for one year (although mothers can opt for the three-year rate). Offering a higher payment over a shorter time period is expected to encourage women to leave the workforce to have another child. For fertile Parisians, this boost in benefits will improve their financial standing, but many will still move to the suburbs, where living is easier and cheaper for households with more children.

Existing childcare benefits—which include tax breaks and reduced pension costs—have already resulted in a baby boom. France now ranks just behind Ireland at the top of the EU birth-rate chart, with 1.916 children per family. The new measure is targeted at 100,000 couples thought to be hesitant about having a third child.

Some good news about bridge 37 Bertrand Delanoë, the mayor of Paris, has announced that the city's newest bridge will be named after Simone de Beauvoir, author of “The Second Sex”. The pedestrian walkway, to be completed by June 2006, will be the city's 37th bridge and the first dedicated to a woman. It will link the National Library in the 13th arrondissement with the Bercy district in the 12th and will provide Left Bank pedestrians with easier access to the rue de Bercy and its newly opened Cinémathèque Française (at No.51).

News from Germany

Obviously Angela Merkel was the big news in Germany at the end of 2005.

December saw the city of Leipzig host the "Women's World Awards". This was an evening where stars and politicians were honoured. Among them Linda Evangalista and Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan. Other women worthy of honour at the event were Margarete Gehring and Alison Lapper. Gehring took her reward on behalf of Germany's 5500 SOS-children's villiage mothers. Alison Lapper was born without arms and disformed legs. Despite her disablities, Alison paints, models looks after her six-year-old son and is now the author of a best-selling biography, " Autobiography of an Optimist".

Meeting in Review N o v em b e r Au t h o r : D e b M a h e r At the November meeting members were introduced to the world of health and well-being. The topic for the evening was looking after mind and body. Lynsey Baxter, who is in the final stages of her studies to become a nutritionist, kicked off the meeting by introducing the subject of nutritional therapy and emphasised the importance of a balanced diet that includes vitamins, fiber and good fats. Karen Graham, a therapist in Bio -Energy and the Bowen Technique, invited members to approach one's health from a holistic point of view encompassing mental, physical, emotional and spiritual aspects. Carolyn Linnevers, a certified yoga teacher and a level 3 Reiki practitioner, got members to join in on some breathing and stretching exercises. Carolyn introduced the 5 points of yoga in the Sivananda tradition, proper exercise, proper breathing, proper relaxation, proper diet and meditation and discussed also a holistic approach to well being. The meeting was a real eye opener for members not already familiar with yoga, the Bowen technique and nutritional therapy...just in time to be added to the list of new year's resolutions for 2006!

Movers an d Groovers - Netw ork Members THIS SPACE IS DEDICATED TO ALL THE MEMBERS WHO HAVE BEEN MOVING AND GROOVING AROUND THE GLOBE IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS. GLAD TO HAVE YOU BACK.

Future Meetings - Dates for yo u r Diaries 12th January - Network on Corner Cafe with Deb Anderson on Ara 25th January - Network meeting, Building or Buying a house 6th February - ABAL luncheon, speaker Dr Reinhard Marx, Bishop of Trier, "ethics or profit" 22nd February - Network meeting, topic to be announced 22 March - Network AGM, followed by speed-networking 26 April - Network meeting, topic to be announced

General Information Deadline for the February 2006 Newslet ter Submissions for the February 2006 newsletter should reach the Editor on or by 11th February 2006. Our contact details are listed here.

C o n t a c t D et a i l s To advertise on the Network website, or in the newsletter, please check the details on the website.

If you would like to recommend the Network to a colleague or friend, details are published here.

For contact details of the current Network Team, click here.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions of authors expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Network.

T he Netw ork New sletter Febru ar y 2006 International Business & Professional Network asbl (Established 1991)

The Network asbl B.P. 2304 L-1023 Luxembourg e-mail: getintouch@the-network.lu website: http://www.the-network.lu

Preside nt's Letter

Dear Network members In this month's newsletter, you will read that our Annual General Meeting is coming up shortly, on Wednesday 22nd March. This has a number of implications. It means that some committee members are due to step down and therefore need to be replaced. We are all currently working hard to ensure that a solid team will be in place for your approval at the AGM, but anyone who would like to become a member of the team can still contact me in the next week or so until we finalise the "slate", that is present the candidates for the new committee.

You will also receive from us by e-mail in the next 2 weeks your AGM pack. This will include a number of documents which you should read and give some thought to. Please remember that to attend the AGM (and the speed-networking afterwards), you must be a fully paid up member for 2006. Details of how to make the payment are given later in this newsletter. If you cannot attend the AGM, you may make your vote by proxy, either by printing, filling out and sending us your proxy vote or by filling in the on-line form, details of which will be included in the AGM pack.

For those of you who have not attended a previous AGM, I would just like to outline quickly how the voting works. When an agenda item has to be voted on, it is done by a system of proposer and seconder from the audience rather than by ballot or a show of hands. Anyone in the audience can propose or second an agenda item. By working in this way, we run the AGM smoothly, and above all, quickly!

I hope to see many of you at our AGM, and before that at our February meeting on the 22nd at our usual venue of the Sofitel, when Paul Evans of Devere and Partners will be our speaker (more details below).

With best wishes Ruth

Editor's Notes Au t h o r : L i s a M c L e a n Welcome to our February Newsletter. This time of year is of course a time of change for The Network, with the Annual General Meeting fast upon us; and particularly this year because there will be almost a complete change of committee, with most people having completed the maximum three year tenure,myself and Marjolijn are the only surviving members. I look forward to working with more new and inspired people. I want to thank the outgoing members for their support as I got started in this position; albeit they had to be supportive as I nursed a very bruised arm for months after Deirdre and Ruth stopped twisting it in order to make me take on this job. None the less, they have been very supportive and I hope I can be just that for the new commitee. I also want to thank Monique Bachner in particular for keeping a supply of interesting articles from various newpapers coming my way, I hope she keeps that up even though she is no longer on the commitee. On that point, any of you who read (or write) an interesting article that you think others would benefit from are welcome to drop me an email and I will gladly publish it.

There are still a number of positions open on the commitee, so please don't feel shy about approaching us to join. It would be great if we could reflect the diversity of our members by the diversity of the committee; nationality and otherwise. Everyone has something to contribute.

Our group is as dynamic and interesting as the members choose to make it. So whether it is as a member of the committee, a contributor to the newsletter or finding interesting speakers, your suggestions and participation are very, very welcome and appreciated.

In the meantime, while you think about what you could do for us, read on and enjoy.

Hon orar y Member - Geraldine Cassells Geraldine Cassells hails from Ireland. She came to Luxembourg in 1992 in order to further her career within an international accountancy firm. Her big promotion was to marry one of the few Luxembourg colleagues in the office and settle here permanently. She joined The Network 9 years ago and was coerced onto the committee at a time when membership of the group was low and the group floundering a little. She served 4 years on the committee as administrator, secretary, editor and vice-president. She resigned in 2001 as the combination of 3 young kids, a part-time job and managing the Well Baby clinic (a support group for pregnant women and mothers with young babies) left very little time to devote to The Network. Geraldine however did not sever her connections totally with the group and has remained as auditor to date. She is due to step down from this role at the forthcoming AGM. She took great pride in competing in the 2004 10km city jogging as part of the network team to raise funds for charity and alone secured the highest individual sponsorship.

The committee would like to thank Gereldine for her unfailing support and to show their appreciation are making her an honorary member of our group. Thanks Geraldine!

New Members - Welcome to the Netw ork Sylvie OLIVEIRA

I am Portuguese, but was born in Luxembourg and therefore speak French, Luxembourgish, German, English, Spanish and Portuguese ( yes, it looks a lot of languages when written down, but growing up here it is quite normal…OK perhaps not the norm, but more likely here than in any other country). I am married since January 2003. I enjoy having fun with my two dogs and enjoy art and discovering new places and travelling to new countries.

Since the beginning of 2004 I have worked for Office City in Luxembourg and have recently taken over the position of Sales & Marketing Manager. Previously I gathered a variety of experience as a receptionist for Hesperia Hotel in Isla Margarita, Venezuela; as Marketing Assistance at Dupont de Nemours for 3 years and as Sales Assistant at Mercedes Benz.

I was introduced to The Network by Géraldine Cassels who is a customer at Office City & Lisa McLean. Both did a wonderful job of promoting the group and I decided it would be a good way to be in touch with other business women, but also thought it would open up new horizons and develop ideas. Through The Network I hope to learn from the experiences of other women and also be involved in new projects….. and of course I look forward to being more in touch with the members that I already know!

New s From Abroa d

Did you know that…

Women will fill 7/10 new jobs in London by 2016, according to a new report from London mayor Ken Livingstone who believes anticipated job growth will offer women unparalleled access to London's boardrooms and better-paying careers.

London currently ranks below the rest of UK in gender pay equality and number of women in the workforce. In Britain 70% of women are employed compared to 62% in London. London's pay gap is 24% compared with 18% across UK.

Maybe this is obvious…….

Women tend to do much better in 'gender-fair' organizations: better pay, better flexibility, better support, better recognition and job satisfaction. Not really surprising news is it? If you work in an organization that you consider “gender-fair”, why not share it with Network members. Letting us know about your company and gives other members an opportunity to benchmark their own work environment and perhaps even help towards making some changes.

But did you realize that….

Many corporations are actively nurturing their talent of tomorrow. For example, Deutsche Bank has just launched a fantastic bursary to assist students financially while at university. They're offering an annual student bursary of £3,000 at Oxford, Cambridge and Warwick Universities, London School of Economics and Imperial College. Why not let your HR department know about this and see if they can come up with something similar. I am sure they will realize how much good press they can get from such initiatives, but if not you can always remind them.

Dr Inge Lippert in Luxem bour g Au t h o r : D a n i S c h u m a c h e r , t r a n s l a t i o n Li s a M c L e a n The inter-regional trade union organisation Saar-Lor-Lux-Trier/Westpfalz invited the sociologist Dr. Inge Lippert to Luxembourg to present new models illustrating how family and work can be best balanced to everyone’s satisfaction. In most European countries the “family politics” of the last years have been focused on a financial transfer to parents, but this in turn has led to a shortcoming in the infrastructure of childcare available. Dr Lipper suggests that if work and family are to be successfully combined in the long-term everyone has to re-think today’s norms. She points out that the responsibility not only lies with government and individuals to support families where both parents work, but particularly employers must rethink their approach.

In an ideal situation, a modern approach to “family politics” leads to a win-win situation for all concerned, according to Dr Lippert. Only in this way can the long-term goals such as an increase in the birth rate and an increase in female participation in the workplace be reached. Both these goals are important in order to guarantee the permanent security of the social systems in light of the over aging of the population.

The sociologist emphasised that in Scandinavian countries it is relatively easy to combine family and work. In particular Denmark was commended for having a very innovative family politic, which in the first instance is understood in terms of increasing equality. In contrast to many other European countries, in Denmark both parents can benefit from family policies, where there is excellent child care and financial benefits. A high birth-rate and high number of women participating in the workforce are evidence of the success of the Danish model. Lippert was equally positive in her appraisal of the French system; here traditionally there is a comprehensive childcare system offered for children, additionally there are generous tax benefits for families with children. Even in Britain the tide has changed and for the past number of years more attention has been paid to providing better child care. Under pressure from the EU, in 2003 London launched a broad “Work-Life-Balance-Campaign”; this was specifically aimed at getting employers involved; flexible work hours, part-time and job-sharing models can be both an advantage for the employer and the employee. The sociologist was however clear that the British model could not be transferred to other European countries because the contrast in social structures was simply too different.

One thing is clear for Inge Lippert, for any of the new models to work, in most countries a complete change in attitude is required. The prejudice that only “Rabenmütter” (unnatural mothers) put their children into crèche must first and foremost be stamped out. Furthermore, men have to be more involved in the childcare process and accept more responsibility.

It is also clear that the childcare possibilities on offer must be extended. The individual communes alone are strained. For Inge Lippert it is clear the the collaboration of all parties is requires- state, commune, employer and social groups- this for her is the most sensible way forward.

Ann ual General Meeting -Importa nt Information!

Please remember that to attend the March AGM you must be a fully paid member. The deadline for renewal is the end of February.

Membership runs from January to January.

The fees for 2006 are 35 Euros and 15 Euros if joining after June 30th 2006.

Please send a virement, indicating your name, to one of the bank accounts listed below: Beneficiary: The Network Bank account: BDL LU58 0080 5333 3500 1003 or CCP LU54 1111 1100 0810 0000 New members can join online.

Job Offer The Tomatis Intitut Luxembourg S.A. is looking for: A native Dutch speaker with experience in teaching Dutch as a foreign language to collaborate with our Language Coaching department on a freelance basis.

If you are interested in this task, please send your CV via e-mail to tomatis@pt.lu

Febru ar y 22n d Meeting

Paul Evans of deVere and Partners will discuss "How to benefit from your ex-pat status in Luxembourg?"

Paul will inform members on:

    

International Investment Advice Tax Friendly jurisdictions Suitable investment products for maximum wealth building potentail EU Tax/Savings Directive 2005 the Expatriate and family planning issues with specific reference to education fee provision.

All of this will be discussed in an informal manner for maximum interest and information Paul has over 15 years experience of advising clients and deVere and Partners are the worlds largest independent financial advisory group,with 33 offices around the world.

Future Meetings - Dates for yo u r Diaries Meeting Dates 

22 February Paul Evans, deVere and Partners: Making most of ex-pat status

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22 March AGM members only AGM followed by: Speed-networking

Events

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Wednesday the 16th of February at 18:00 - 21.00 Art Expo at the Business Center Office City Bodypainting, sculptures, paintings from the famous Brasilian painter Roberto Barr. Lots of surprises for your eyes only! Info: 264.20.264

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Wednesday the 8th of March is International Women's Day-why not encourage your company to mark this in some way?

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Wednesday the 8th of March at 19.30 in the auditorium of the Banque de Luxembourg a round table discussion on "vie professionnelle,vie privée" hosted by the Zonta Club Luxembourg. Participating speakers: Minister Biltgen, Marie-Jeane Chèvremont-Lorenzini, Viviane Goergen, Ginette Jones, Nathalie Loux, Mill Majerus. Facilitator: Claude Wolf of Revue.

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Friday the 10th of March at 20.00 in the International School of Luxembourg auditorium a Concert for Charity: supporting projects in Moshi, Tanzania and Orhaniye, Turkey. Enjoy an evening of music by professional musicians from the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra,Voices International, and the Irish folk group, Heartlands. Call Diane Russell at 26 04 42 06.

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Sunday the 19th March is a day of solidarity in the fight against cancer at the Coque 10 am-8pm see www.cancer.lu for more details of how you can participate.

General Information Deadline for the March 2006 Newsletter Submissions for the March 2006 newsletter should reach the Editor on or by 10th of March 2006. Our contact details are listed here.

C o n t a c t D et a i l s To advertise on the Network website, or in the newsletter, please check the details on the website.

If you would like to recommend the Network to a colleague or friend, details are published here.

For contact details of the current Network Team, click here.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions of authors expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Network.

T he Netw ork New sletter March 2006 International Business & Professional Network asbl (Established 1991)

The Network asbl B.P. 2304 L-1023 Luxembourg e-mail: getintouch@the-network.lu website: http://www.the-network.lu

Preside nt's Letter

Dear members of the Network At our last committee meeting we were discussing the question of our charity donation for this year, which may be lower than previous years as we have not organised a specific charity raising event recently. A number of suggestions were put forward, including the idea of sponsoring for a specific period of time a young person to help with their education. Other ideas were to continue our support of the school in Tanzania, where we really saw the benefits of the donation, unlike other recent donations where we have had little or no feedback.

As a donor, it is always appreciated when there is some information received on where and how the donated funds have been spent.

In the past the Network has also tried to focus its donation on "female / child" areas and to recall the old saying that "charity begins at home". On a personal note I feel that the first objective has greater necessity than the second. This was underlined by a recent article in the British press, discussing child victims of AIDS in Africa, and specifically in Zambia. Reading such statistics as 1 in 6 kids between 15-24 are HIV-positive, that every year 40,000 babies are born HIV-positive and life expectancy is as low as 37 in this one country alone makes me even more convinced that any financial support we can give to this continent is a valid contribution.

We will vote on this issue at the AGM, and I hope that whatever decision is proposed and carried through meets with your approval.

This is the last president's letter that I will write - with some relief! I would like to extend my grateful thanks to my VP, Deirdre Wolohan, for all her efforts with me in the last year and to all the other members of this last year's committee for their support, commitment and time devoted to working on behalf of our association. I wish the incoming committee a successful and fruitful continuation of our great group and look forward to being back on the other side of the table, as it were.

With best wishes Ruth

Editor's Notes

Hello from the desk of the editor. It was interesting to see that there were a number of events in Luxembourg to celebrate International Women’s day. I attended the Zonta club event at the Banque du Luxembourg where Journalist Claude Wolf hosted a roundtable discussion about Life and Work balance with various government consultants, representatives from the private sector and labour minister Biltgen.

I was disappointed, however, to read the following day in d’Wort that Marie-Josée Jacobs the Minister for Equality thinks that, “One thing is for sure: the day when equality between men and women finally exist will never come. Equal opportunity is an eternal building site”.

Just in case Ms. Jacobs gets to read our newsletter I will share an inspirational anecdote. In 1987 when I moved to Stuttgart there was a HUGE building site in the north of the city near Feuerbach. This had already been in existance for years and it created chaos every morning and evening and was frustrating for commuters. There was at that time still a large American military presence in Stuttgart and the soldiers called the road works “Mac Nix Corner”, this they derived from the German “Sie machen nichts- they are doing nothing”. After so many years the name stuck and even the Germans in Stuttgart used the term “Mac Nix Corner”. However, I recently visited Stuttgart and was amazed and delighted to discover that the eternal road works that everyone had accepted as permenant had been finished.

So, Ms. Jacobs... all I will say is – have faith, if you don’t believe that equality can be achieved, we are in bad shape.

New Members - Welcome to the Netw ork Tatjana von Bonkewitz My name is Tatjana von Bonkewitz. I am German-British and have lived in Germany, the UK, Italy and now Luxembourg.

I speak German, English, French, Italian, Spanish and Luxembourgish. I am married with three children Max (6), Paola (5) and Levi (2). In my career I have been involved in teaching, Sales & Marketing, EU-Consultancy, Call Center Training, Project Management and now Learning and Development in Financial Services Europe-wide. In my spare time (which is of course limited) I like to read, travel to Italy and be involved in community work.

I found The Network through the internet and was inspired to join because for a busy professional woman with a family, it is very hard to find the time to network with other women as time is the most precious thing we have. A structured network is ideal and it is also fun.

Through The Network I hope to meet other professional women, gain insight in other areas, share ideas and enjoy their company while listening and discussing interesting topics.

Valerie Scholtes I am a Belgian national and have lived in Belgium, Canada, UK and Luxembourg. I speak French and English fluently and was fluent in Dutch until I was 18; however I haven’t spoken it since. I work as a financial controller for a private equity house.

My hobbies are running, tennis and because I am still young, free and single I like to use many of my weekends to travel and discover new places. I do not have a favorite destination as such, the key being for me to discover something new and enjoy a new experience wherever I go. Otherwise, I very much like London. This year has been off to a good start travel wise.I spent Christmas skiing in Cran-Montana (Switzerland) and the first weekend of January in Milan, then the following three weekends in London; this was partly driven by work as the headquarters of my company are located there. Now I am planning my first big holiday of the year: Argentina – three weeks! Lucky girl ... I know ...

I was introduced to The Network by Geraldine Castles and I thought it would be a great opportunity to meet young professional women and enjoy fun evenings. I only joined in December 2005, so look forward to enjoying being a

member in 2006.

Movers an d Groovers - Netw ork Members

Thea Van Tonder

I’ve been working for Legato s.a. since November 2005. Our core business is selling computers, hardware and software. I have recently taken on the additional responsibility of setting up a branch in Hosingen which will be opened in the near future.

Our company also offers computer lessons that I prepare and give occasionally.

Additionally, I am now also in charge of promoting a wide range of Do-It-Yourself products.

These products are developed by a South African company called Pratley and Legato s.a. is their official distributor for Europe. The new developments within my company as well as my committee work for The Network has kept me busy throughout the past months.

Meeting in Review F e b r u a r y M e e t i n g - M a k i n g th e b e s t o f y o u r E x p a t s t a t u s Au t h o r : J u l i c a O r t l i n g h a u s

On the February Network-meeting Paul Evans from DeVere Partners discussed the theme how to benefit from being an expat regarding pension investments. Paul Evans is a partner of the investment consulting company DeVere Partners who opened a branch in Luxembourg in September 2005.

As statistics show one out of two marriages end into divorce. It is therefore especially important for women to adjust themselves to this fact and care not only about personal pension investments for their retirement but also for the educational expenses of their children. As a matter of fact only 20% of all women receive an adequate pension; therefore many are approaching retirement without financial security. In addition women's earnings tend to be less than men; this means that they will have potentially lower pension benefits.

Statistically a woman is currently less likely than a man to receive an adequate pension; therefore they can be exposed to a greater risk of not having enough money to live comfortably in retirement. Moreover women live on average longer than men do, so they often have to survive longer on less money.

Companies hardly offer pension provisions as a part of an expat benefit package. Expats are therefore often forced to switch from pension plan to pension plan as they change from countries country. This doesn't make sense as the expat risks a fragmented income that may even be whittled away by foreign exchange costs or other charges. Maintenance of the actual live standard of the expat is therefore almost impossible if they do not invest on their own initiative in their future coverage.

Expats are defined as someone working and living temporarily or permanently away from their original or normal country of residence, which may or may not have the intention of

going back. Therefore most of us are concerned!

A positive aspect: Expatriates enjoy greater freedom when it comes to investment decisions: they are not necessarily restricted by the same regulations that domestic investors experience.

Evans emphasised that an early pension engagement is imperative if the investor wants an investment at advantageous rates. The later the investor enters into a pension investment the higher the extra financial commitments are and the lower the payments at the end.

A very attractive form of pension investment is the investment in Investment funds as statistically the value of well-managed funds increase astonishingly. Statistics show that the average European investment fund increased by 23% last year. The value of the worst investment fund increased by 4% the best by 36%. Numbers are similar in U.S. where the average investment fund had a growth of 18%, the lowest 8% and the best one 28%. The average Asian investment funds increased statistically by 33%, the worst by 9% and the best by an astonishing 103%. He concludes that Luxembourg investment funds are one of the most advantageous ones worldwide as Luxembourg is a tax friendly jurisdiction.

Evans concludes that everybody needs an individual solution adapted to its current position, its personal time frame and its personal financial goal. If these parameters are determined you shouldn’t hesitate as a later investment implies higher financial commitments for the same financial benefit at the end. He concluded with the final advice to “Just do it!”.

In the press this past month

To mark International Women’s Day Statec issued some interesting statistics about women in the EU Did you know that: • Women in the EU live on average 6 years longer than men. 81.2 years for women and 75.1 years for men. The greatest difference was in Lithuania with 77.7 years to 66.3 years, the smallest difference is in Malta with 80.7 years to 76.6 years.

• A result of the above statistic is that 59% of all people over 65 are women.

• The average age of women at the birth of their first child is higher in 2004 than it was in 1994. The EU average rose by 1 year and 5 months to 28.2 years.

• In the EU in 2005 more women than men between 20 and 24 years had a secondary qualification at level II3 or higher; specifically 80% women to 75% men.

• In all member states women made up over half the number of students; with the exception of Cyprus and Germany where the division was equal.

• In subject areas science, mathematics and IT 37% of the students were women. Only in Italy and Portugal was the division of men and women studying in these subject areas equal.

2006 has been designated the European Year for Workers’ Mobility.

On the EU's dedicated site you can find out more about activities and events carried out in the framework of the Year, and access a wealth of information on workers' mobility. It aims to open up the debate on the real benefits and challenges of working abroad or changing job.

The quote of the month: "Mobility should become a natural way for workers to gain skills and improve their living and working conditions. In an ideal world, every European who wishes to have the opportunity to move and experience working and living in another Member State should be able to do so. But for this to happen, we need to continue to remove the obstacles which prevent them from doing so." José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission

Brussels, 20 February http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/workersmobility2006/index_de.htm Women leaders. World impact.

The Sloan Fellowship at London Business School is masters degree programme designed purely for experienced senior managers.

Sloan Women's Scholarship Women make up a third of all Sloan Fellows and make an important contribution to the Sloan Fellowship programme and the wider London Business School community. In conjunction with Saatchi & Saatchi and Spencer Stuart, the Sloan Fellowship offers a dedicated Sloan Fellowship Women's Scholarship.

The scholarship awards one fully funded place on the Sloan Fellowship worth £40,250 and a programme of career mentoring with Spencer Stuart, the worldwide executive search consultants, to the woman candidate who best exemplifies the characteristics of business leadership.

Eligibility The scholarship is open to self funding women candidates for the Sloan Fellowship MSc programme commencing in September 2006.

Applying for the scholarship In a survey of 250+ women business leaders, the key qualities considered most needed by successful women leaders were: • Resilience • Vision • Ability to motivate and inspire • Passion • Self-confidence • Communication skills.

To apply for the scholarship candidates must submit • a 1000 word essay telling us how they embody, personally and professionally, the above qualities • a 3 minute video discussing the trends in their sector and forecasting where it will be in 10 years.

Scholarship application deadline The application deadline for the scholarship is 30 March 2006.

Events 



British Chamber of Commerce:Wednesday 29 March 2006 Small Businesses Evening Event 18:15 at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce Dan Eischen, Interact; Richard Bentley, e2advance Sarl; Charles Oakes, Charles Oakes & Co. Sarl "Using your Website as a Marketing Tool" American Chamber of Commerce:Monday 3 April 12.00 ABAL Luncheon With special guest speaker, Dr. Rolf Tarrach, Rector of the University of Luxembourg, "The Luxembourg University: What Next? The 10 Year Plan"

Future Meetings - Dates for yo u r Diaries Meeting dates 22 March-AGM plus speednetworking-members only! Please find below related documents and most importantly an form for an online proxy vote.

Related documents: 2006-02-20 AGM Ballot Slate - 2006 <http://www.the-network.lu/documents/2006%20AGM%20ballot%20slate.doc> 2006-02-20 AGM Invitation Letter - 2006

<http://www.the-network.lu/documents/2006%20AGM%20letter.doc> 2006-02-20 AGM Minutes 2005 <http://www.the-network.lu/documents/2006%20AGM%20-%20Minutes%20of%202005%20AGM.doc> 2006-02-20 AGM Absentee Ballot - 2006 <http://www.the-network.lu/documents/2006%20AGM%20Absent%20Ballot.doc> 2006-02-20 AGM Agenda - 2006 <http://www.the-network.lu/documents/2006%20AGM%20Agenda.doc>

Related forms: 2006-02-13 Proxy voting <http://www.the-network.lu/Form.php?id=8>

General Information D e a d l i n e f o r t h e Ap r i l 2 0 0 6 N e w s l e t t e r Submissions for the April 2006 newsletter should reach the Editor on or by 3rd of April 2006. Our contact details are listed here.

C o n t a c t D et a i l s To advertise on the Network website, or in the newsletter, please check the details on the website.

If you would like to recommend the Network to a colleague or friend, details are published here.

For contact details of the current Network Team, click here.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions of authors expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Network.

T he Netw ork New sletter April 2006 International Business & Professional Network asbl (Established 1991)

The Network asbl B.P. 2304 L-1023 Luxembourg e-mail: getintouch@the-network.lu website: http://www.the-network.lu

Preside nt's Letter

Dear members of the Network,

First of all thank you so much for your confidence in me, I am delighted to be this year’s President.

I know that you are all as enthusiastic as the new committee; therefore it will be a wonderful season. Of course, a huge “Thank You” goes to the stepping-down committee, and we are grateful to those who continue this year besides the new ones. We will follow their steps into charity fund raising, especially because this year is the 15th anniversary of The Network.

The upcoming event on Wednesday April 26th, as ever at the Sofitel, will present Mr. Arnaud Marquet of Dexia Life & Pensions, who will give you some ideas on how to save for your pension – or how your company can benefit from several tax rules to make savings to benefit your pension. An interesting topic as we all know that Pensions are a “hot issue” for all of us – otherwise you know for sure you will be working until your 80th anniversary! Don’t say you haven’t been warned!

As always, feel free to bring your friends and colleagues for this event. If you would like to inform us in advance who your guest is, please send an email to getintouch@the-network.lu Dr. Marie Valentova will discuss on Wednesday May 31st "Labor market inactivity due to family care in Luxembourg in the light of the Lisbon employment Strategy" and in June we plan to discuss “Image & Style – the tools to succeed professionally and personally”, to give you some thoughts during the summer season and to be well prepared afterwards for new career opportunities or other personal goals.

On behalf of the committee ; Lisa, Luz, Marjolein, Gosia, Helen and Viviane, I wish you a lovely Easter.

Best regards, Jacquelien

Editor's Notes Au t h o r : L i s a M c L e a n Hello from the desk of the editor. I must say I am looking forward to working with old and new members on this year's commitee. I managed to miss our first meeting because of a business engagement, however from Helen's minutes I can see there are lots of new ideas flowing, which promise fun and hard work!

I will keep this short in order to make way for the many profiles of our new members. For those who have not been included this month. I promise you will be next month. Thank you for your input. Wishing everyone a happy Easter.

Lisa

New Committee Au t h o r : L i s a M c L e a n New president Jacquelien Huisman has lived in Luxembourg for 11 years. She was works for Rowlands International Jacquelien has declared herself happy with the work of the 2005/6 committee and hopes to continue along similar lines with the new team. V-P Viviane Bumb has lived in Luxembourg for two years and joining the Network was her "best decision on arrival"; through the network she made not only professional contacts, but also best friends. Gosia Grochalska will take over PR and marketing she has been in Luxembourg for 13 months and hopes to put her communication skills to use in her new role.

Helen Mitchell is also relatively new to Luxembourg, but a regular Networker, and since she has put career goals on hold for the moment due to small children The Network is delighted to have her contribute to the committee as general seretary.

The three remaining committee members are Lisa McLean- Newsletter Editor, Marjolijn Thiecke-Treasurer and Luz Arenas-Web coordinator

Meeting in Review A n e w c o m m i tt e e f o r T h e N e tw o r k !

Au t h o r : M a r j o l i j n T h i e c k e Last month The Network hosted our Annual General Meeting. Founded in 1991, we will this year celebrate our 15th anniversary.

Traditionally any AGM tends to be open to members only, but the stepping down committee allowed enthusiastic newcomers and renewing members to pay their subscription fees literally 5 minutes prior to last night’s official event. As a result the association has once again over 100 members in the first quarter of the running year with the biggest turn-up ever for its AGM. Naturally, the old committee, presided by President Mrs. Ruth Springham and Vice President Deirdre Wolohan, were all extremely pleased with such a positive result after another year of voluntary work.

This long lasting success of The Network is not only a result of organizing successful monthly Network meetings with guest speakers who lecture about a particular professional subject. It is also due to its professional website, many returning loyal members, a strong focus of promoting the Network by each individual member on an ongoing basis and the great initiative of introducing the ever popular “speed-networking” to the club. By maintaining each year an enthusiastic committee, and by using the Sofitel Hotel as its regular venue, “The Network” has established itself as a club that is truly worth being associated with.

Following the AGM a glass of champagne was served and again many business cards were exchanged and as with each Network event most of the networking is pleasantly continued at the bar.

The newly elected very international Network committee members: Swiss Viviane Bumb, Vice President Scottish Lisa McLean, Newsletter Editor Dutch Jacqueline Huisman, President Spanish Luz Arenas, Website Coordinator Polish Malgorzata Groschalska, PR Dutch Marjolijn Thiecke, Treasurer Irish Helen Mitchell, Secretary

In the New s this Month

Germany launched an awareness campaign "Stop Forced Prostitution". The upcoming event is of course the football World Cup in June, when thousands of young women are expected to turn up. It is estimated that world wide 600,000 to 800,000 women per year are forced into what is being called "modern slavery".

In Saudi Arabia 28-year-old Fatima was denied access to her bank account because she did not have an identity card.

For the past year Saudi Arabia has been issuing ID cards to women, and banks are now insisting on them. However women like Fatima are running into problems when their husbands veto the cards, on the basis that they cannot be photographed without their face covered.

Luxembourg's Claudine Speltz gains The Network's congratulations on the award "Trophée Europe 2006" that she received in Paris from the "Conseil Européen Femmes, Entreprises et Commerce". Ms Speltz heads her own company and the Zonta Club Luxembourg-Multiculturel.

New Members - Welcome to the Netw ork Vera Becker My name is Vera Becker and I come from Germany. I studied industrial purchasing and my career has been in the transportation industry. Before coming to Luxembourg I worked for Wincanton, but six years ago my MD left to take over RT-Log/BPM and he asked me to join him. So here I am. Because languages are very important in Luxembourg, I speak my native language German and additionally English and French. In my spare time I do sport and love walking with my dog.

I joined The Network, because I wanted to meet with other employed women. Here I hope to extend my language skills and look forward to an exchange with women from different occupational groups and spheres of activity. In November 2005 I came to my first meeting with The Network and since then I pursue with great interest the monthly meetings.

One thing I can offer Network members is a special rate for the mailbox service my company BPM offers. When on holiday for example, we receive all packages and mail. If you have a postal address at BPM you get immediate access to your letters and parcels 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with easy access and free parking. Or if you order in online in Germany, France or Belgium you can have goods delivered to us.For special rates contact vera.becker@bpmlux.com or www.bpm-lux.com Margaret Warton-Woods I am British and was born 44 years ago in Lusaka, Zambia, where my father was working as a forester.

My career has varied quite a bit. After graduating with a degree in Spanish and French, I joined the British Army for seven years. Then, thinking I should settle down, I left and returned to university for a post-graduate diploma in translation studies. I worked in England with RMC Group and then came to Luxembourg.

For the last five years I have been the quality manager at the Translation Centre, a small EU agency. In 2004 I started a distance-learning programme for a Master’s degree in Total Quality Management and expect to complete it this year in August.

As I work full time, these studies leave little space for hobbies but I do love music. I play the organ for Sunday Masses in Lenningen, and am studying the instrument at the conservatoire in Luxembourg. Maybe it is crazy, but we have just had a 13-register pipe organ built in our

house. It took two years! Luckily our neighbours are not too close.

It was by chance that I learned about the Network. While waiting at a garage for my car to be repaired, I picked up a copy of the ‘paperJam’ magazine. An article about the Network caught my eye and the idea of women supporting women appeals to me. I hope to be able to contribute in some way once my studies are over.

Eva Sierminska I have lived in Poland, US, Mexico and speak English, Polish, and some French. I have a Ph.D in Economics and work in research. I am married with one child and enjoy skiing, tennis, outdoor activities. I discovered The Network on www.station.lu and I was inspired to join because of the interesting lectures. I hope to other women with similar interests and goals in life and of course meet new friends.

Panagiota Bissiela My name is Panagiota Bissiela and I am from Greece. I am married but I don’t have children yet. Since September 2005 I have been living in Luxembourg permanently due to my husband’s professional relocation. It is the first time we are living out of our country and we really enjoy it as we like the challenges.

When I was in Greece I was working as a business analyst for the marketing department of Eurobank –Cards SA in banking sector. I worked in Marketing and as a statistical analyst for 3 years and as a secretary for 2 years. I used to work many hours and in my little free time I liked to visit friends and play team games like trivial. Since I am here I study French and English, where I attempt specially to enrich my vocabulary. Also, I go running and bicycle riding.

If somebody asked me to characterise my self I could say that I am a very sociable person, because I like to be an active member in different teams and to offer in any way I can.

Additionally, I could say that I am workaholic! Oh …definitely! I love working and since I have been living here I am looking for a job. Unfortunately I haven’t found yet.

During my searching on the Internet I discovered the “The –Network”. Without second though I wanted to be a member. I am so glad that there is this organisation and I look forward to participating and getting to know more.

Future Meetings - Dates for yo u r Diaries 

26 April at 7.30pm at the Sofitel- Mr. Arnaud Marquet of Dexia Life & Pensions will address our concerns on pensions and related matters.



31 May at 7.30pm- Dr. Marie Valentova of Impalla School (CEPS/INSTEAD) will present some ideas on the position and circumstances of working life in Luxembourg in relation to family care.

Events In the framework of the Safer Internet Programme, the European Union is organising the Safer Internet Forum to be held

in Luxembourg-Kirchberg on 21st June 2006, from 09h30 to 16h30, in the Building Jean Monnet.

The topics of this plenary session will be: >Children's use of new media; >Blocking access to illegal content: child sexual abuse images.

The half-day devoted to Children's use of new media will analyse the results of the Eurobarometer survey and the Mediappro project. Discussion will focus on awareness raising tools and ideas on how to exploit research results for practical awareness raising work.

During the second half-day programme, the problematic of notice and take-down of illegal content blocking access to child sexual abuse images and server-level filtering of illegal content will be addressed.

The purpose of the Safer Internet Forum 2006 is to contribute to improve the common understanding of these issues at a European level. As in 2005, participants will include representatives of industry, law enforcement authorities, child welfare organisations and policy makers.

Info and registration: European Union - Europe's Information Society. http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/sip/si_forum/forum_june_2006/index_en.htm.

General Information Deadline for the May 2006 Newsletter Submissions for the May 2006 newsletter should reach the Editor on or by 9th of May 2006. Our contact details are listed here.

C o n t a c t D et a i l s To advertise on the Network website, or in the newsletter, please check the details on the website.

If you would like to recommend the Network to a colleague or friend, details are published here.

For contact details of the current Network Team, click here.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions of authors expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Network.

T he Netw ork New sletter May 2 006 International Business & Professional Network asbl (Established 1991)

The Network asbl B.P. 2304 L-1023 Luxembourg e-mail: getintouch@the-network.lu website: http://www.the-network.lu

Preside nt's Letter

Dear Networkers, Well, I am now in the second month as President and I can report that I see the world with different eyes. I no longer read and article or listen to a speaker in a passive manner. Every article and speaker is considered from the perspective of “would this be of interest to The Network”.

This month I represented our group at the Amcham “Diversity and Equal Opportunity Seminar”, which was hosted in conjunction with Dexia-BIL, there we had the privilege of listening to some interesting speakers. Minister Marie-Josée Jacobs Minister of Equal Opportunities spoke about the positive actions taking place in private industry in Luxembourg; Mr Surinder Sharma, Equality and Human Rights Director of the National Health Service in the UK presented “Innovation through Diversity: Valuing Difference, Creating Success. The Ford Motor Company Experience” and Mr Marcel Origer of IBM Luxembourg presented “Diversity and Inclusion". This Amcham event is one of a series to be hosted by the Human Resource Committee and I await with interest the following events.

I also met with a group of American of students who were being hosted by Miami University. The group were from a women’s university in Pittsburgh and for many it was their first trip overseas. It was interesting to meet with these young women and get some insight into their first impressions of Luxembourg.

With the committee I am looking at ideas for celebrating our 15th anniversary and look forward to being able to report more on that shortly.

I look forward to seeing you all at our next meeting.

Best wishes, Jacquelien

Editor's Notes Au t h o r : L i s a M c L e a n Hello from the desk of the editor. On behalf of The Network I would like to extend congratulations to my girlfriend's sister-in-law, Luxembourg’s Simone Kayser, on her exceptional performance in this month’s Kigali Marathon in Ruanda. Simone was the only overseas runner to make it into the Top 10 amongst the women; of course with the strength of the east African runners this is no easy achievement. Furthermore, the run takes place at 1500-1600m above sea level at temperatures of over 30 degrees.

The Kigali marathon was also given a second title: “International Peace Marathon of Kigali”. 1736 participants in white t-shirts ran an additional round of the Amahoro Stadium; runners from Ruanda, Africa and overseas ran hand-in-hand as a symbol of hope for future peace. 12 years ago, between 800,000 and one million people were killed in Ruanda in the space of 100 days. 10,000 people were murdered at the Amahoro Stadium in 1994.

Simone came to marathon running in her mid-30s and is therefore an inspiration to women like myself who imagine fitness and achievement of a number of goals to be just around the corner...

Movers an d Groovers - Netw ork Members Malika bites the Apple in Paradise - Eden Shoes, 56 Grand Rue, Luxembourg Network member Malika Apple has this month fulfilled a lifelong dream by opening her own business. Malika, who is French, has been involved in retail for the past 10 year and for the past six she has worked in Luxembourg. Now Malika is to be found at Eden Shoes in Gallerie Beaumont, 56 Grand Rue, Luxembourg. Malika’s store sells ladies fashion shoes, she stocks all the latest trends at reasonable prices. Malika is offering a 10% discount to Network members; and to make it easier for business women she is also open until 6.30pm. The Network wishes Malika all the very best in her new endeavour.

Malika extends an invitation to her Grand Opening Event on Friday the 19th of May from 6pm-9pm.

Women in the w orkforce Au t h o r : T h e E c o n o m i s t 1 5 Ap r i l 2 0 0 6 The importance of sex Forget China, India and the internet: economic growth is driven by women Even today in the modern, developed world, surveys show that parents still prefer to have a boy rather than a girl. One long standing reason why boys have been seen as a greater blessing has been that they are expected to become better economic providers for their parents’ old age. Yet it is time for parents to think again. Girls may now be a better investment.

Girls get better grades in school than boys, and in most developed countries more women than men go to university.

Women will thus be better equipped for the new jobs of the 21st century, in which brains count a lot more than brawn. In Britain far more women than men are training to be doctors. And women are far more likely to provide sound advice in investing parents’ nest egg: surveys show that women consistently achieve higher financial returns than men do.

Furthermore, the increase in female employment in the rich world has been the driving force of growth in the past couple of decades. Those women have contributed more to global GDP growth than have either new technology or the new giants, China and India. Add the value of housework and child-rearing, and women probably account for just over half of world output. It is true that women still get paid less and few make it to the top of companies, but as prejudice fades over coming years, women will have greater scope to boost their productivity- and incomes.

Governments, too, should embrace the potential of women. Women complain (rightly) of centuries of exploitation. Yet, to an economist, women are not exploited enough: they are the world’s most under-utilised resource; getting more of them into work is part of the solution to many economic woes, including shrinking populations and poverty.

Some people fret that if more women work rather than mind their children, this will boost GDP but create negative social externalities, such as lower birth rate. Yet developed countries where more women work, such as Sweden and America, actually have higher birth rates than Japan and Italy where women stay at home. Others fear that women’s move into the paid labour can come at the expense of children. Yet the evidence is mixed. For instance, a study by Suzanne Bianchi at Maryland University finds that mothers spend the same time on average, on childcare in 2003 as in 1965. The increase in work outside the home was offset by less housework- and less spare time and less sleep.

A woman’s world What is clear is that in countries such as Japan, Germany and Italy, which are all troubled by the demographics of shrinking populations far fewer women work than in America, let alone Sweden. If female labour-force participation in these countries rose to American levels, it would give a helpful boost to these countries’ growth rates. Likewise, in developing countries where girls are less likely to go to school than boys, investing in education would deliver huge economic and social returns. Not only will educated women be more productive, but they will also bring up better educated and healthier children. More women in government could also boost economic growth: studies show that women are more likely to spend money on improving health, education, infrastructure and poverty and less likely to waste it on tanks and bombs.

It used to be said that women must be twice as good as men to be thought half as good. Luckily that is not so difficult.

New Members - Welcome to the Netw or k Alethia Lyriotakis-Elosegui My name is Alethia Lyriotakis-Elosegui and as you may guess by my name I have a Greek connection. I am in fact American-Greek. I have lived in the USA, France, Spain and Luxembourg and I speak French, English, Greek and Spanish. I am a Marketing & Communications specialist and after completing a BA at New York University in Political Science and Economics, I went on to complete an MBA at L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. I have been in Luxembourg for the past two years and am employed as the Press Relations Manager for RBC Dexia Investor Services.

My hobbies include studying languages, travelling, scuba diving, singing and cooking. A friend mentioned The Network to me and I like the idea of belonging to a network of female professionals in Luxembourg. I would like to get to know other like minded people, to share professional experiences and maybe hobbies with others.

Petra Reimann My name is Petra Reimann; I am a 36 year old German born in Hannover. I’m the Assistant to the Head of IT at a fine English bank. I came to Luxembourg in June 2000 with no intention of staying here. It was only meant to be a week's holiday as I was touring Europe with a backpack. At the time all strings were leading in the direction of Southern France, where I wanted to set up my "tent". As fate would have it, 6 years later I am still in the Grand Duchy and call it very much my home!

Spare time is filled with hobbies, such as walks in the countryside, trying out new recipes (I just love cooking!), reading and most of all photography. The camera goes with me everywhere. There are picture perfect shots in the countryside and I want to capture those beautiful sights. Favourite photographic topics are Landscapes, Architecture, Graveyards and Still Life. While I write these lines the preparations of the next exposition are in full swing. I will be among the artists of the "Expo aux 4 coins" in Grevenmacher. I am going to publish further details on the events calendar.

Since March I have been a member of The Network. I found a link on the EUMA (European Management Assistants) website and am very keen to meet with other professional working Ladies. Furthermore, I learn of interesting workshops, presentations and seminars by way of the monthly newsletter of which I would have otherwise no access.

Meeting in Review S o m e l i v e t o w o r k , ot h e r s w o r k t o l iv e …

Au t h o r : L i s a M c L e a n Some live to work, others work to live… for the rest Mr. Arnaud Marquet of Dexia Life & Pensions had some advice when he addressed concerns on pensions at the April Network meeting. Mr Marquet acknowledged that due to the international nature of our group there is a diverse range of considerations to be looked at. However, as a general rule there are three types of pensions to be considered, legal pensions, professional pensions and private pension schemes.

Mr Marquet advised that these three should be looked at as pillars holding up your future; in otherwords, make sure each pillar is strong. Furthermore, he made clear that although there are some bilateral and multilateral agreements amongst countries, this is not always the case. Indeed even within the EU there are major differences in pension schemes, with Denmark, UK Ireland and the Netherlands offering a basic state pension to all, whereas France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Switzerland offer salary based pensions. Mr Marquet explained that the EU regulation 1408/71 is designed to support the free movement of persons inside the EU; however the goal is coordination of pensions, not that the same pension scheme be introduced in each country. Most inportantly, state pensions must be applied for in your country of residence, the authorities will then demand previous countries of residence to calculate your pension; it is advisable to do this at least one year in advance of retirement.

Upc oming Netw ork Events “ L a b o u r m a r k e t i n a c t i v i t y d u e t o f am i l y c a r e i n L u x e m b o u r g i n t h e l i g ht o f t h e L i s b o n e m p l o y m e nt S t r a t e g y ” Career or family? Does it have to be one or the other? It is never an easy decision but why do so many experienced women in Luxembourg put their careers on hold to raise their families? What circumstances lead them to their choice?

This month, The Network’s guest speaker will be Dr. Marie Valentová, Assistant Professor at IMPALLA (The International

Master in Social Policy Analysis by Luxembourg, Leuven and Associate Institutes).

Dr. Valentová will present her ideas on “Labour market inactivity due to family care in Luxembourg in the light of the Lisbon employment Strategy”. Her presentation will cover some of the circumstances and choices related to working life and family care in Luxembourg. The event will take place on Wednesday 31st May 2006 at 19.30 at the Sofitel Hotel in Luxembourg.

With more than 9 years study and 8 years work experience on the subject, Dr Valentová holds Masters Degrees and a Ph.D in social studies from Masaryk University in Brno, the Czech Republic and the Tilburg University in The Netherlands. Her current work covers many aspects of unemployment, balancing family life and a professional career.

Future Meetings - Dates for yo u r Diaries 28/06/2006 19:30 Sofitel Monthly Meeting Improve your image & style - Professionally & Personally Speakers: Ms. Eleonora Corsetti and Ms. Franca Sommario ************************

Events   

30th June-PIRATES TABLE QUIZ on Friday0, 30th June.Doors open: 19:00 for a prompt start at 19:30.Gasperich Church Hall, Rue de Gasperich, Luxembourg.Prizes for winners.Drinks and hot food available.

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO CHARITY.Tables of 6 - 30 euros or Individuals - 6 euros Email: tablequiz@pirates.lu 14th and 15th June the Ministry for Equality is organising a seminar on the topic "Gender Budgeting".

This looks at gender budgeting and the development of perspectives for implimenting this in Luxembourg. An open presentation will be hosted on the 15th of June at 17.00hrs. Tel: 35 87 78 Until 1st September: French artists Elsa Trouslard and Dorothy Rossert wil be exhibiting their work at Office City in Kirchberg

General Information Deadline for the June 2006 Newsletter Submissions for the June 2006 newsletter should reach the Editor on or by June 15th 2006. Our contact details are listed here.

C o n t a c t D et a i l s To advertise on the Network website, or in the newsletter, please check the details on the website.

If you would like to recommend the Network to a colleague or friend, details are published here.

For contact details of the current Network Team, click here.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions of authors expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Network.

T he Netw ork New sletter June 20 06 International Business & Professional Network asbl (Established 1991)

The Network asbl B.P. 2304 L-1023 Luxembourg e-mail: getintouch@the-network.lu website: http://www.the-network.lu

Preside nt's Letter

Dear Network members, I would like to take this opportunity to keep you up-to-date with some of the discussions the committee is having at the moment. Firstly, we have chosen our favoured charity for this year and after careful consideration we have decided to lend our support for a second time to the school project in Moshi, Tanzania.

Throughout the school year upper school students at the International School of Luxembourg raise funds to support th under privileged students in Tanzania. Each year a group of approximately fifteen 11 grade students travel to Moshi to do repairs at the school. Two years ago The Network gave money to help build a female dormitory there. The thanks and gratitude with which our support was received by Mama Lucy in Moshi, has been the main reason why we have decided to once again support this worthy cause. It is always heartening to see and hear that your help has been appreciated and is being used as you intended and Ms Diane Russell at ISL and Mama Lucy have kept us informed of progress.

A plaque dedicated to The Network hangs on the wall of the dormitory; this alone was not the reason for our decision, however it is an honour and a wonderful gesture of appreciation. So, again this year we hope to have a FUNd raising event and have decided that due to the success of the City Jogging two years ago, when Geraldine Frank and many other dedicated members (and/or partners) raised a ton of money in sponsorship, we will do a similar event around the st Walfer Laaf which is a 10km run taking place on Sunday the 1 of October. I have given plenty of warning, so enjoy the summer and start getting in shape now!

Jacquelien

Editor's Notes Au t h o r : L i s a M c L e a n

Dear Networkers, Welcome to the last newsletter before our summer break. While thinking about this month’s content I came across various “heavy” articles about gender equality and female prostitution in the EU. However, I made an editorial decision to keep this edition “light” and set you on the right path to an enjoyable summer. We are all busy, so sometimes some of the more important details just pass us by. Therefore, to get you ready for our next meeting with the Style Consultants I have done research on some important ”must have” items for this summer. Well, ladies did you know… you must have cropped trousers and wedged shoes ( if you wore them the last time around don’t worry, it only feels weird for about two days, then you get over your age), alternatively short floating skirts with leggings (even I haven’t been able to go there yet, but it looked good on all the

long legged Scandinavian women I saw in Stockholm a couple of weeks ago), belts, the latest ipod, a tan (try Lancaster fake, but not the spray, it goes everywhere except where you intend it to), a football team to support (when in doubt choose Brazil), a Mini convertible (alternatively just turn off the a/c and roll down the windows, you get the same feeling), girlfriends to meet downtown for cocktails…the list is endless…anyway whatever your personal style is this summer make sure you party in style.

And to help you party I have included an agenda of some of the great concerts taking place in downtown Luxembourg-most of them free! But if Luxembourg is simply not enough for you, how about checking out websites like nixwieweg.de or ryanair.com for some great summer deals....remember no excuses, it is all there for you.

Lisa

Movers an d Groovers - Netw ork Members

Network member and Belgian artist Marleen Lacroix currently has an exhibition of her most recent mosaic pieces at Papageno restaurant, in Rue du Marché-aux-Herbes in Luxembourg.

Originally Marleen studied fine art for seven years in Ghent, Belgium, but she has been working in mosaic since 2002. “I was initially attracted to mosaic after seeing an exhibition at Chateau Bourglinster of English artist Elain Goodwin in 2002. I then attended a course in London with Elson and since then I have not stopped. I truly love this medium and enjoy every minute I spend in my studio. Obviously mosaic is an ancient art form, however it has made a huge comeback in England and the US and hopefully now in Luxembourg too,” said Marleen.

When she is not creating her own masterpieces, Marleen is helping others create theirs. She has been teaching mosaic classes for The Second Degree for the past year and a half. Classes take place in her studio in Bertrange and are held in small groups of six to eight students. “I enjoy my time with my students, our classes are relaxed and informal, but despite that amazing pieces of art are created. My students have different nationalities and employment backgrounds, we come together to share a love for the craft of mosaic and we enjoy learning from each other,” explained Marleen.

To view some of Marleen’s work visit www. mosaic.lu

New Members - Welcome to the Netw ork My name is Penny Atkinson and I am British, having lived in England, France and Luxembourg. I speak English, French, Spanish and some German. I worked in accountancy for three years before moving into Recruitment in 1994. I worked with Badenoch & Clark in London, on a variety of teams (covering both Temporary and Permanent recruitment, for Lawyers, Accountants and a variety of Financial Services professionals) before moving to their Luxembourg office in August 2005. I enjoy socialising, cinema, theatre and music. I was introduced to the network via a number of friends and colleagues, I was very interested in being in contact with professional women across a range of different disciplines. What I hope to gain from my membership is the giving and receiving of ideas and support on a variety of issues and to/from the group.

I also hope to gain an appreciation of the factors affecting working women in Luxembourg.

Upc oming Netw ork Events ‘ I m p r ov e y o u r p e r s o n a l i m a g e & s t y l e - P r o f e s s i o n a l l y & P e r s o n a l l y ’ Most professional women have a limited amount of time, and often a limited budget to spend on their wardrobe. Yet style

is an issue if you want to make the right impression and with so many different fashion trends available in the high street stores it is easy to make expensive mistakes. To address some of the issues busy women face The Network has invited style consultant Eleonora Corsetti to speak to the group with the view to providing tips on how to improve personal image and style as well as improving self-confidence. The event will take place at the Sofitel Hotel, in Kirchberg on Wednesday 28th June 2006, at 7.30pm.

Speaker is Eleonora Corsetti from ‘Image & Style’.

Meeting in Review T h e N e tw o r k l o o k s a t “ L a b o u r m a r k e t i n a c t i v i t y d u e t o f am i l y c a r e i n L u x e m bo u r g i n th e l i g h t o f t h e L i s b o n em p lo y m e nt S t r a t e g y ” “Labour market inactivity due to family care in Luxembourg in the light of the Lisbon employment Strategy” was the subject of of Dr Marie Valentova’s talk to The Network in May. Dr Valentova is a Ph.D. graduate at the Faculty of Social Studies at the Masaryk University in Brno, the Czech Republic. Currently, an Assistant Professor and the staff coordinator at the IMPALLA programme (The International Master in Social Policy Analysis by Luxembourg, Leuven) she researches the aspects of balancing family life and professional careers.

In accordance with the Lisbon employment strategy all EU member states aim to have 60% of women between the ages of 16-64 in paid employment by 2010. This percentage of women in employment is deemed necessary to financially sustain today’s social structures. Dr Valentova explained that she was attracted to Luxembourg because there was very little research being done on why, despite government initiatives, Luxembourg was not reaching their target. There is a huge probability that countries such as Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal and Spain will not be in line by the set date. Dr Valentova discovered that there were no available statistics on who the women in Luxembourg were, therefore her first step was to “map the terrain”. She looked at the wider social and economic situation of women who were not working and questioned how can they be mobilised?

As Dr Valentova explained, one of the first things to understand about Luxembourg is the type of welfare state that is in place. The three typical forms in the EU are; social democratic model, as practiced in Sweden, where the state provides a vast range of services; the liberal model, such as in Great Britain where the state through tax benefits encourages the individual to provide for themselves. Luxembourg has in place a conservative welfare state model or a “corporatist model” which assumes a functioning family unit, this model assumes that the family will solve any problems that exist, the state only gets involved if the family is unable to. The state provides heavy financial benefits in cash. This model is based on the assumption that each family unit is headed by a male bread-winner in full employment. This has led to a rigid and inflexible labour market. While the state is financially generous, the tax system is advantageous to male breadwinners and disadvantages women who have low or medium benefits, in as much as they lose out on substantial benefits if they go back to work while children are still young. The difficulties arise because women stay out of the labour market for extended periods of time and consequently find re-entry difficult, because they lack the most current skills required.

Dr Valentova concluded that as well as the financial structures in place in Luxembourg, Luxembourg’s traditional values also have a large influence on whether women work or not. Furthermore, education also has a role to play; less well educated women in Luxembourg stay home and with only 30% of women working, Luxembourg has the lowest rate of the EU15. While government initiatives of the past years have increased the number of crèche places available for children, only 3% of children under three are in child-care; here again Luxembourg is the lowest of the EU 15. Dr Valentova concluded that a more flexible labour market needs to be encouraged in Luxemboug in order to mobilize women. One of the long-term consequences of a rigid labour market is likely to be that the birth rate drops; particularly among women with a higher level of education who choose to work and either postpone or decide against having children. A lively and interesting discussion following Dr Valentova’s talk with Network members contributing their own comments about the inflexible school hours in Luxembourg, about male dominated leadership within industries such as engineering and showing great interest in finding out more about the response of government officials to Dr Valentova’s research.

Luxem bour g “no exc use s” Ag en da 2006 21 June: Opening concert for “Summer in the City” is “Kneudler goes Classic: Russian Night” at 20.30 22 June: Concerts, Fireworks and more downtown on the eve of the National Day Celebrations. Latino Fest in the Grund 17.00 until 4.00

23 June: End of Season Party in the Philharmonic with DJ Carl Craig 24 June: Challengers celebrate “the best of” at the Kneudler 24/25 June: Go-carting at Kirchberg for over 14s or the Rock-a-Field open air concert 27 June: “Theatre terres promises” in Abbey Neumunster 30 June: Medecins sans frontères concert “ Move to Change” at Kneudler (Rap, Regae and Rock) 18.00 1 July: LuxGsm Rock & Pop Festival at Kneudler 2 July: Rock um Kneudler with Jean-Louis Aubert plus 4 July: Soul and Jazz singer Lizz Wright at Abbey Neumunster 9 July: Festival of cultures at Abbey Neumunster 15 July: Blues’n Jazz-Rallye in the Grund from 19.00 28/29 July: “Kanner in the City”- children’s festival from 14.00 29/30 July: Middle Ages Festival in the old city 5/6 August “History of the City” in Bisserweg 12 August: Streeta(rt)nimation 13 August: Gala Tour de France at the railway station 8/9 September: International Music Marathon on the Place d’armes 16 September: Samba from Brazil as the finale for “Summer in the City” on the Place d’ar,es and more….

1 July: Pei Museum opens 27 June-1 July: Dance Festival at Abbey Neumunster 17 July-19 July: Open air Cinema at Theatre Capucines 14 July-15 September: City Safari for Kids For more information email touristinfo@lcto.lu Or visit www.summerinthecity.lu www.lcto.lu

Football -If you c an't join them b eat them If you are feeling left out in the macho world of football, yet you have a love of the game and feel like getting your voice heard, why not become a football writer. Visit www.soccerway.com for details.

"Women Soccerway is searching correspondents for the news department in different countries.

Can you write decent English articles? Do you speak Norwegian, Finnish, Russian, Icelandic, Japanese, Chinese or just English?

Volunteer and join the Women Soccerway team. "

Could this be yo u? (I am laughing w hile writing this) Romantic and creative marriage proposals in Paris.

ApoteoSurprise, a new french agency, produces themed experiences for couples who plan to travel to Paris and who wish to declare their burning love in a magically original way : -

projection of the declaration of love on the walls of Notre-Dame de Paris at the time of a dinner-cruising,

-

ninety foot message written at the foot of a castle and visible from a helicopter,

-

apparition of the declaration of love on the wings of an airplane or on the big screens of a Stadium,

-

wax statue of St Valentine coming to life at the Musée Grévin,

-

parchment delivered by a prince in the meanders of an enchanted forest,

-

etc.

Each of ApoteoSurprise’s experiences involves the appearance of an exceptional vehicle at the foot of the loving couple’s hotel. Direction : a mystery destination. One of the two is completely unaware of the surprise that’s being set up, and the delightfully subtle scenario slowly progresses towards the apotheosis : his/her sweetheart’s amazing and totally unexpected declaration of love.

The forty turnkey experiences are aimed at couples in love who are in search of an unusual and total escape, and who want to ask for their partner’s hand in marriage, commemorate a wedding anniversary, celebrate a honeymoon, or "simply" offer their sweetheart the surprise of his/her life. For more information about ApoteoSurprise : Check out the website http://www.apoteosurprise.com/indexEN.htm

General Information Deadline for the September 2006 Newsletter Submissions for the September 2006 newsletter should reach the Editor on or by 5 September. Our contact details are listed here.

C o n t a c t D et a i l s To advertise on the Network website, or in the newsletter, please check the details on the website.

If you would like to recommend the Network to a colleague or friend, details are published here.

For contact details of the current Network Team, click here.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions of authors expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Network.

Future Meetings - Dates for yo u r Diaries Meeting dates for the rest of 2006

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S e p t e m b e r 2 7 s t - " B r i n g a F ri e n d " S p ee d N e t w o r k i n g

T he Netw ork New sletter Septem ber 2006 International Business & Professional Network asbl (Established 1991)

The Network asbl 3, Rue General Patton L-7270 HELMSANGE e-mail: getintouch@the-network.lu website: http://www.the-network.lu

Preside nt's Letter

Dear networkers, I hope I can welcome everyone back full of energy for our autumn session of The Network. As you will read below, we kick off with a speed-networking event. We have decided to open this event to friends of network members so if you would like to bring someone please do.

I am also delighted to announce that we will be marking the occassion of our 15th Anniversary at a special event in December. This will also mark the launch of our first “After Work” event. This is a concept we have come up with to encourage our members to socialise at various interesting events in Luxembourg. We hope to host three a year and the aim is to meet at an exhibition or a concert and perhaps have dinner together afterwords. So without further ado I introduce our December Anniversary event to you: Wednesday, December 13th 2006 First Location: Mudam 5.00pm 5.30pm 6.15pm 7.45pm

Welcome guests Start guided tour Champagne in the Mudam Café End of the reception

Second Location: Papila (Restaurant Philharmonie) 8.00pm Dinner (choice of two options) I look forward seeing you all at these events.

Jacq

Editor's Notes Au t h o r : L i s a M c L e a n Welcome back, and I hope everyone has had a successful "rentrée" into Luxembourg society. I had a lovely summer, most of it spent travelling and visiting friends. As inspiration for further travel adventures I have included an article on tips for women travelling alone. I hope you use it.

Lisa

Meeting in Review Au t h o r : R u t h S p r i ng h am Image and Style by Corsetti On a warm June evening, Network members turned out in their colourful summer clothes, hopefully looking at their best, and Eleonora Corsetti was on hand to tell us more about creating and using our image to our best advantage.

Eleonora described herself as an image consultant, whose job it was to make each of us look our best and to reveal our personality through the choice of colours and clothes, and so boost our self-esteem.

Her talk centred on four key areas, style, colours, make-up and hair-style, but before going into these in detail she asked the group how important image was and quoted Oscar Wilde who said “It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearance”. Research has shown that on first impression 70% goes on looks, 20% on speech and 10% on the meaning of what is being said! In today’s fast-paced world there is less time to listen and talk and that first impression has become even more important.

Her next question was to ask “what is image”, which Eleonora suggested was a silent message which should reflect your personality. Furthermore we have moved away from merely dressing ourselves to keep warm to clothes as a statement of who we are. In the business world we have to be aware of hidden codes which are rarely written down, but which have to be learnt to create the right appearance, which is the key to success in the work-place. Her job is to help you adapt your style to your work-place.

She then drew a distinction between fashion and style. Fashion equals: - an inspiration to be accepted in the group, it belongs to all, it is impersonal, standardises and is short-term. In contrast style is: - a sense of comfort in yourself, is selfknowledge, is private property, a unique choice, distinguishes and lasts forever. Style can be built based on selfknowledge and an observation of what is around you.

Eleonora then went on to talk about colours, and how each of us can only wear either warm or cold colours, though within those there is a palette of different colours that suit a person. Colours also have an emotional response to the individual and can affect your decision to wear one or not. They can balance your figure and face and they also activate the memory.

On the subject of make-up she quoted Calvin Klein, “the best thing is to look natural, but it takes make-up to look natural!” Hairstyle is also important to the appearance, with the right length, cut and colour all impacting on the style you create.

The evening rounded off with a lively question and answer session, before members headed off to the bar to check their and everyone else’s appearance.

Upc oming Netw ork Events Speed things up this September at The Network The Network kicks off its autumn season on Wednesday the 27th of September at 7.30pm at the Sofitel, Kirchberg doing what it does best – speed-networking! Speed-networking operates much along the lines of speed-dating and offers Network members the opportunity to build business & social contacts. The first speed-networking event was hosted two years ago and ever since, has become a regular feature of the group’s activities.

Speed networking is popular because, in a world where networking plays an important role in career advancement, it allows members to connect with many people in a short space of time, fostering valuable business connections or simply new friendships.

Entrance is open to members and non-members alike; or you can become a member on the evening or by joining online.

For more information on membership and events visit www.the-network.lu or email getintouch@the-network.lu

Future Meetings - Dates for yo u r Diaries

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 

2 Oct 2006: You are cordially invited to the October ABAL Luncheon in collaboration with The Network which will take place on Monday, October 2, 2006, at 12:00 at the Sheraton Luxembourg Aerogolf Hotel. The guest speaker will be Ms. Geraldine Knudson, Luxembourg City Manager. The cost of the luncheon, including aperitif, is 30.00 EUR payable at the door. A no-show policy will be enforced - that is, if you make a reservation but do not attend, you will be charged 25.00 EUR. You may, however, cancel up until 12:00 (noon) the Friday before the luncheon, or you may have a colleague attend in your place. To sign up on-line see website: www.amcham.lu 18 Oct 2006: (please note this is a change from last published date) Sofitel at 7.30 The Network's October meeting marks Breast Cancer Awareness month with guest speaker Alison Kingsbury talking about her recently launched project The Life Ring.

13 Dec 2006: The Network's 15th Anniversary event 5pm at Mudam.

New Members - Welcome to the Netw ork New member Marta Belz runs Papageno restaurant, 20, rue du Marché aux herbes, L-1728 Luxembourg opposite the palace.

Marta about herself: I´m a new member in this network and I live here in Luxembourg since October 2005. I had a realtor agency in Germany until 2000. We left Germany because of an opportunity my husband received from his employer to work in Arizona (USA). I was born in Czech Republik where I was lived until I was 11 years, so I speak German, Czech, Slovenian, Italian, English and now I´m trying to learn French because I need it in my position. I love people, different cultures, discussions, languages and much more. I try to make my restaurant a welcoming place and a meeting point for all the people who love the arts and delicious food. For that reason I have placed in my historic house art-exhibitions – such as network member Marleen Lacroix’s ceramic mosaics and Sofia Alvarez’s paintings.

I have been running the restaurant since October 2005 and my aim is to make it an important meeting place for people from different nations that live in Luxembourg who would like to eat in a nice and wonderful atmosphere and for a reasonable price. Our phone number is: 22 26 06, fax: 22 26 05, e-maiL: papageno@pt.lu or website: www.papageno.lu.

Have time w ill travel Au t h o r : L i s a M c L e a n More and more people are travelling the globe, but equally more and more women are choosing to travel alone, either because they are single or because they simply want to pursue their own particular interests.

Having spent my second career (I am now on my third I think) in the airline industry, I took full advantage of the glorious benefit called standby (free) travel. Until I met my husband and he responded to my “Marry me fly free” t-shirt I did a lot of travelling on my own. And I enjoyed it! I enjoyed the intensity of experiencing new cities on my own, the time goes past far slower, granted you take far more coffee breaks to allow you to just sit and observe. A weekend break alone is as rejuvenating as a week or a fortnight with company. A recent article in The Sunday Times explored the phenomenon of young women travelling alone and listed a few tips worth considering, I have also added a few of my own.

Tips for women travelling alone Dress for the country-Look at the local women. Try to assimilate and cover up if they do. Look around you on the beach before whipping your bikini top off. Wear a losable wedding ring.

Valuables-Keep valuables to a minimum. Leave jewellery at home. Keep some cash in your pocket to hand over if you are accosted for money, generally, as soon as they get cash they go.

Footwear-Don’t look like an old boot. The pain of leaving those strappy sandals behind will be nothing in comparison with the pain you will go through on a steep trail with the wrong shoes.

Gropers-Carry a personal alarm, look confident and walk with a swagger. If you do get attacked scream, shout,bite , scratch and push. A well placed kick from those boots will come in useful too.

Web forums-Want to check out your destination, your hostel, a restaurant? Ask other travellers via “thorntree” forum at

www.lonelyplanet.com or try www.thelmandlouise.com/ -an exclusive network for women Plan your journey-Arrive in the daytime, book your first night’s accommodation in advance and travel with others when possible – especially overland, if you find yourself alone in a train compartment move to another. Sit with families or other women.

Enjoy the meeting-Travelling alone forces you to make friends and judgements fast. Sometimes you get it wrong, but usually not. The intensity of the trip and the time together often makes friends for life.

Books-A book is always good company. Keep a paperback handy to hide behind if you don’t want to chat. But beware, when beware that an English title often leaves you a target for practicing language students.

Boo ks in Review Sue Stockdale founder of Uk company Mission Possible has published Secrets of Successful Women Entrpreneurs.

Here she profiles 10 women including Linda Bennett of LK Bennett, Glenda Stone of Aurora and Michelle Mone of Ultimo bra.

Orange Prize for Fiction 2006 At a ceremony in central London hosted by Orange Prize for Fiction author Zadie Smith was awarded the £30,000 prize.

Judge Martha Kearney,said: "After an animated discussion which broke all Orange Prize for Fiction records for length, we decided to give this year's prize to On Beauty by Zadie Smith.

"This is a book which combines extraordinary characterisation with skilful and seemingly effortless plotting. It ranges from exposing the intimacies of family life to broader themes of aesthetics, ethics and the vagaries of academe in a literary tour de force."

Zadie Smith was born in north-west London in 1975 and still lives in the area. She is the author of White Teeth and The Autograph Man, both of which were shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. On Beauty was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2005.

Job Offer Crown Corporate Services is a small firm providing accounting, auditing and company administration services in Luxembourg. Due to expansion, we are currently looking for an Accountant. Primary role will be to attend to the accounting for a group of offshore investment funds. Duties will include the calculation of the monthly Net Asset Values, liaising with the Transfer Agent and the Fund Manager.Please send your CV to: p.westhuizen@crown.lu or to Network member Irina Boechat at i.boechat@crown.lu, she has kindly offered to introduce member’s CV to the manager.

Crown Corporate Services Tel : (+352) 26 47 60 1 Fax : (+352) 26 47 60 22 Website : www.crown.lu

General Information Deadline for the October 2006 Newsletter Submissions for the October 2006 newsletter should reach the Editor on or by 5th October 2006. Our contact details are listed here.

C o n t a c t D et a i l s To advertise on the Network website, or in the newsletter, please check the details on the website.

If you would like to recommend the Network to a colleague or friend, details are published here.

For contact details of the current Network Team, click here.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions of authors expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Network.

T he Netw ork New sletter October 2006 International Business & Professional Network asbl (Established 1991)

The Network asbl 45, rue des Templiers L-7343 STEINSEL e-mail: getintouch@the-network.lu website: http://www.the-network.lu

Preside nt's Letter

Dear networkers, Welcome to the October newsletter. I hope you all enjoyed the September speed-networking event as much as I did. It was a pleasure to welcome new members to our group and I believe we made everyone feel welcome. The committee have been doing great work getting some excellent events organised for us into the New Year. I truely hope you will enjoy them as much as we hope.

In the meantime, if anyone has an idea with regards to an afterwork event, or a workshop that we could organise, please let your ideas be known and we will act on them whenever we can. Furthermore, if you have promotional material or any announcements you would like to make at our monthly events please do not hesitate to send me a short email beforehand or speak to me before the event starts. In that way I am well prepared to introduce you. We will also always have the table available at the door for promotional material.

Enjoy your newsletter and look forward to seeing you at the meeting next week, when we welcome Alison Kingsbury and hear how she got her project The Life Ring underway.

Jacq

Editor's Notes Au t h o r : L i s a M c L e a n October is breast cancer awareness month and we are pleased to mark the occasion by having Alison Kingsbury of The Life Ring Project join us this month. While researching this issue of our newsletter, looking for appropriate information to include I came across harrowing statistics about breast cancer.

One in eight women will contract the disease in their life time. Around 41,000 woman are diagnosed and 13,000 woman in the UK die of this disease each year. Britain still has the one of the highest mortality rates etc. It is awful to read, but all I could think about were the women in my life who have fought breast cancer and won! And that in all honesty is what I want to think about, I want to think about my aunt who finished treatment two years ago and is fine now, I want to think about my friend who finished treatment eight years ago and is doing great and I want to think about a mother at school who is fighting and winning at the moment. I know some women do loose in the end, I am getting upset now because I am remembering one in particular. But that isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t what any of those women would want me to do. It is important that we stick together and show solidarity with friends or family who are fighting any illness at the moment, and hope that we will all have their strength if we face similar circumstances. We have to believe it is a battle that can be won. A recent article in a UK magazine featured 5 survivors, one of whom had breast cancer 25 five years ago. Now their stories were inspiring!

Warning Sign s o f Breast Cancer and Useful Contacts

Warning Signs of Breast Cancer • The recent appearance of the growth in the breast area or under the armpit, • A modification of the dimensions or the form of one of your breasts, • A liquid discharge from the nipple (sometimes with the presence of blood), • The appearance of irregular skin on part of your breast, of the type known as "orange peel skin".

Attention ! 4 out of 5 growths turn out to be simple cysts ; do not get alarmed too quickly but consult your physician.

Useful addresses

Programme Mammographie - Coordination Centre 5570 Villa Louvigny - 3rd floor L-2120 Luxembourg Astrid Scharpantgen, nurse coordinator 5563 Christiane Lux, social worker 5565 Dr Wagnon Marie-Christine radiologue-senologue 5555

Tel:

478

Tel:

478

Tel:

478

Tel:

478

Fondation Luxembourgeoise contre le cancer Tel: 45 30 33 - 1

• Psycho-social services, listening and counselling help: Mme Barbara STREHLER, qualified psychologist • Library open to all; very wide choice of books and articles; Free loan.

• http://www.cancer.lu/

The multidisciplinary breast team at the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg and Clinique d'Eich was established in 2003. The group, called "Groupe Sein" is a functional breast clinic dedicated to the clinical management and psychological support of breast cancer patients.

Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg 4, Rue Barblé L-1210 Luxembourg Phone: + 352 44112084 Fax: +352 441215 - +352 44112795

Clinique d'Eich 78, Rue d'Eich L-1460 Luxembourg Phone: +352 44117324 Fax: +352 44117630

Upc oming Netw ork Events Next Meeting October 18th  18th October 7.30pm at the Sofitel, Kirchberg. Alison Kingsbury will discuss her project "The Life Ring". Alison will be joined by nurse Carrie Cannon.

"It's the next big thing for charity - everybody's doing it and you can too! The Life Ring wear your conscience on your finger. It's beautiful, it's discreet, it feels great and you're raising money for breast cancer research. Love your Life Ring and wear it with pride".

Events The Pink Party at Passage Fitness, Sandweiler Special Breast Cancer Awareness activities will take place at Passage Fitness at Sandweiler over the weekend 20th22nd October Friday

19.00-20.30 Cancer Attack (attack and balance class) 20.30- Late PINK PARTY!!!

Saturday

10.30-12.00 Sweaty Pink Butt (30min cardio and 1hr butt) 13.30-15.00 Pink Punch Attack (attack, combat & balance) 14.00-15.00

Pink Salsa (salsa dancing in gym 2)

16.30-17.30 Pink Pump (Body Pump with added Pink) Sunday

10.30-12.00 Targeting Breast Cancer 13.30-14.30 Pink Pump (Body Pump with extra Pink) 15.00-16.30 Boob Jiggling (Pink extended Body Jam)

A donation of 5 euros per class is requested. Join the party for 10euros But beware there is a 1 euro fine for not wearing pink!

All proceeds go to Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

E x p e r i e n c e s a n d R e s u l t s o f C r o s s - m e nto r i n g

A Conference to discuss the results of the Cross Mentoring Project for women in leading positions will be hosted on Monday, 16th October 2006, at the Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg; starts 12.30.

Experiences and results of the ongoing project will be discussed. The project is hosted within the framework of the program for positives actions of the Ministry of equal opportunities.

Movers an d Groovers - Netw ork Members N e t w o r k m em b e r s L a u n c h O n e S t op L a n gu a g e . n e t a t E x p o l i n g u a i n B e r l i n Network members Judy Critchley and Helen Haselock take their new business to Berlin next month. Started in 2001 in Luxembourg Précis Interactive Language Learning S.a.r.l provides in-house training for corporate clients.

Due to increasing requests for information about total immersion courses abroad, owner Judy Critchley saw the

need for a more comprehensive advice system. This sparked the idea for the interactive website http://www.onestoplanguage.net/ which offers a free advisory service. Agents work from an extensive global database, researching the best language study options for clients based on their individual needs, and then booking them on the course at a discount. The website has been proving successful amongst Luxembourg's training coordinators and Helen and Judy have decided it is time to spread the word, so they are off to Expolingua in Berlin to do just that.

T hat’s it confirmed, chocolate is a girls best friend Woman critical, chokes on marshmallow Sep. 13, 2006. 12:22 PM CANADIAN PRESS LONDON, Ont. — A 32-year-old woman was in critical condition today after choking during a marshmallow-eating contest at the city's Western Fair, the London Free Press and London radio stations reported today.

Paramedics were called to the fairgrounds just after 7 p.m. Tuesday after the woman began to choke and collapsed.

The unidentified woman was taking part in the Chubby Bunny contest, in which contestants stuff as many marshmallows as they can into their mouths.

"She was finished (the contest) ... she was walking away and collapsed," fair manager Dave Taylor said.

"It was just an unfortunate incident that happened."

EMS duty manager Al Hunt said the woman had no vital signs when paramedics arrived at the fairgrounds.

He said she was revived at hospital and was in critical condition.

Taylor said in light of the incident, the future of the contest was in doubt.

"That contest had been on a few times, but I think we will probably pull the plug on that contest and it won't be continuing on," he said.

P.S. Don't worry she's fine now and safely confined to a chocolate only diet...Lisa

Future Meetings - Dates for yo u r Diaries Meeting dates for the rest of 2006

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N o v e m b e r 2 2 n d - Wo m e n i n B u s i n e s s i n L u x e m b o u rg g u e s t s Cl a u d i n e Sp e l t z, J u d y C r i t ch l e y p l u s Al a i n C l e m en s , a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e f r o m 1, 2 , 3 G O !

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D e c e m b e r 1 3 t h - T h e N e tw o r k c e l eb r a t e s 1 5 y e a r s a t t h e M u d a m !

General Information D e a d l i n e f o r t h e N ov e m b e r 2 0 0 6 N e w s l e t t e r Submissions for the November 2006 newsletter should reach the Editor on or by 11 November 2006. Our contact details are listed here.

C o n t a c t D et a i l s To advertise on the Network website, or in the newsletter, please check the details on the website.

If you would like to recommend the Network to a colleague or friend, details are published here.

For contact details of the current Network Team, click here.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions of authors expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Network.

T he Netw ork New sletter Nov ember 20 06 International Business & Professional Network asbl (Established 1991)

The Network asbl 45, rue des Templiers L-7343 STEINSEL e-mail: getintouch@the-network.lu website: http://www.the-network.lu

Preside nt's Letter

Dear friends, Welcome to the November Newsletter. Hopefully you are all enjoying the autumn months and are looking forward to some wonderful friend filled time indoors this winter. To help you enjoy the upcoming dark months we have some excellent network events planned. Our November meeting focuses on Starting Your Own Buisness, so perhaps that will inspire many of you to use the winter months to plan something new. And of course you should all have received the email inviting you to register for our December event. We will celebrate our 15th anniversary and this lovely evening will be hosted at Luxembourg's Mudam. It will be interesting celebrating in a venue that is so much younger than our organisation. Indeed, I read somewhere that the idea of building the Mudam was infact first talked about 15 years ago; appropriate if true, no? It really does promise to be a wonderful evening. Here are the details:

Date Wednesday, December 13th 2006, 5 pm Location Mudam - Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, 3, Park Dräi Eechelen, Luxembourg-Kirchberg Programme 5.00 pm: Welcome guests 5.30 pm: Guided tour of the Mudam 6.15 pm: Champagne reception at the Mudam café 7.45 pm: End of the reception 8.00 pm: Dinner in the Aromarestaurant Papila of the Philharmonie Costs: The guided tour and the champagne reception are sponsored by The Network. Costs for the dinner must be paid by individuals.

This event is open to members only and you must register.

To Register: A) for the Guided Tour and Champagne Reception, please go to the following link: <http://www.the-network.lu/Form.php?id=9> B) for the Guided Tour, Champagne Reception AND the Dinner please go to the following link : (choose the menu option from the attached invitation beforehand) <http://www.the-network.lu/Form.php?id=10> I look forward to welcoming you next week at the November event and spending a relaxing evening celebrating with you in December.

best regards, Jacq

Editor's Notes H ow F i s h O u t of W a t e r m a d e t h e N e t W or k f o r T h e m I'll keep it brief as I sometimes think this is my once a month personal blog to the world and I'm not sure that it is value added!

In anticipation of our 15th Anniversary celebration on the 13th of December I tool the liberty of getting in touch with Marty Putz who was one of the original networkers. She was very humble of the role she played in it all, but she was so supportive of the group and disappointed that she is missing the anniversary event because she is in South Africa in December, I suspect she was a key to the motivation and success of the original group. She insisted that Larue Hall and Cynthia Brubacker were the real inspiration behind our incarnation and she kindly contacted Larue for her reflections on all those years ago. Like so many great ideas that women have The Network could be seen as a knee jerk reaction to circumstance or indeed the identification of a niche market. Either way, thank you top all those who have gone before.

Here is Larue’s email about how it all began: Ladies, Here is the network start up, as I remember it. Cyn Brubacker and I met once for lunch, after we discovered each other at an art circle tour. We recognized that each of us felt like a fish out of water since we were no longer working, after being super professional women, who obviously took a sense of self from our work. So, we made a date to meet with the promise of bringing along a friend/acquaintance who felt the same...and then there were four.

At that lunch, we decided to put an announcement in the Lux News to see if there were any more fish out there, and low and behold at the first meeting, held at the then American International School, about 20-25 women showed up! So you see that is how your history started and we are delighted that it continues with lots of super women...like yourself...

Au t h o r : L i s a M c L e a n Dear Networkers, While brainstorming the editorial content of this newsletter (now I hope that sounds as if I put lots of thought into this, I do!) I decided to hook onto something from last month’s meeting. Alison Kingsbury was our guest and she presented her beautiful ring The Life Ring. Alison also gave some thought provoking information about the latest trend in buying “conscientious consumerism”.

That got me thinking and I did a bit of research, some of which I have included. Conscientious consumerism, as Alison described it, relates to the preference of many people to purchase goods that also benefits others; be it Tradefair coffee, any charity item, or the Red Products that Bono has launched with many multinationals. However, I came to realise that I was a conscientious consumer way before the trend (which is saying something, as according to my teenage son I am way behind any trend hitting any place on the globe right now, when infact I was cutting edge while he was was cutting teeth).

As consumers we can influence change in a number of ways. One way is to purchase items that generate money for charity, but another is boycotting products of companies that are known to use inappropriate labour or products, equally we can refuse to travel to countries that have policies that we do not agree with. Until the end of apartheid I bought no South African fruit (there was no wine back then), poor old French wine and cheese was boycotted as soon as the Rainbow Warrior was blown up and I once ran out of petrol on a dark country road because I was boycotting Shell petrol (I wasn’t smart enough to work out that the next station was many villages away and was also Shell).

An excellent example of how consumer power can change multinational's is symbolised by the “Pink Pound”, as it is now known. The Gay Movement cleverly launched a campaign to show how much spending power gay couples have and boy oh boy did that make a difference to how advertisers treated les boys. Anyway, enough to say that we should never be complacent about what we spend our money on, it does matter and it can make a difference. I looked at loads of different websites this month (as did Helen Mitchell) trying to find things that I thought would be interesting for you before the holiday season. I have included some links. The best site I found for "gifts that give twice" is Oxfam, it has something for

everyone, for example, for as little as 30 GBP you can give a gift to train a teacher in Africa - who will in turn teach a whole village. Last Christmas my kids received small rubber chickens and a rubber goat…these symbolised the animals that their uncle had paid for in Africa on their behalf. Young as they are, they understood. And it was pink pound notes that bought my Grandma a fruit tree in an African village last year. Sadly, my Gran past away this year, but as a family we still have great hopes for that tree!

Meeting in Review Au t h o r : M a r l e e n L a C r o i x

October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month and for that reason The Network to invited Allison Kingsbury designer and owner of the "The Life Ring Ltd", a company that raises money to further the fight against breast cancer. LIFE stands for - Love Inspiration Future Exploration.

Allison designed and oversees the manufacturing of beautiful silver, gold and platinum rings. From every purchased ring the company gives up to 25% to Against Breast Cancer, a UK hospital based charity which funds an innovative research programme and whose long term aim is to find a vaccine against breast cancer. The first part of this research will take 5 years to get a profile of the women touched by breast cancer.

The life Ring is distributed mainly online and Allison explained that five years ago such a project would have been unconceivable and has been possible due to the expansion of the World Wide Web! Originally studied Theatre Studies, however her professional career has been in marketing and of course, she is taking care of all the marketing of The Life Ring. She invested 30k British Pounds to set up this business and she explained that : 22% to develop the website, 20% PR, 25% stock of the rings, 10% Marketing and 22% for company setup. She is optimistic about the future of the company, as since the launch of the company this year sales have been good.

Allison explained the hardest thing for her has been deciding how much stock to keep. For silver rings there is around 58 weeks delivery time and she therefore works with two different manufacturers. The gold rings are made individually for each person.

Many people suffering from breast cancer have written to Allison on receiving or reading about The Life Ring and this has been a great source of encouragement for her. She has set her goal high, and her target is to raise at least 1 million pounds.

Nurse Carrie Cannon joined Allison and explained the importance of examining your breast on a monthly basis and emphasized that this is a habit to teach our daughters as they end their teenage years. Carrie gave helpful tips and practical advice and hosted a round of questions and answers.

The Life Ring can be bought or gifted at www.thelifering.com

Con scientious Con suming : Wha t is it?

Conscientious Consuming is the process of evaluating the conduct and activities of product manufacturers when purchasing consumer products.

Usually when people are buying a consumer product they consider and compare the price, the features, and the design of competing products. Conscientious consuming is the process of including the "product’s conscience" in the purchasing process. A product’s conscience reflects the conduct and actions of the company that manufactures the product.

An example was the boycott of tuna in the early 1990’s. Some people refused to purchase canned tuna because dolphins were routinely killed during the capture of tuna. Even though canned tuna did not contain dolphins, the product’s conscience was tainted by its processing methods. The end result of the boycott was that the tuna companies found a way to catch tuna without killing large numbers of dolphins. Once canned tuna had a "clear conscience" consumers once again began purchasing it.

Conscientious consuming is also the recognition that when consumers purchase a company’s product, they are supporting and approving of all of the company’s conduct and actions. Some people refuse to purchase Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Jell-o or Tombstone Pizza because to them, these products have a tainted product conscience. This is because the manufacturer, Kraft Foods, is owned by the largest tobacco company in the United States, Philip Morris.

Another form of conscientious consuming is related to the country where products are manufactured. By purchasing products from a certain country consumers are supporting and approving the conduct and activities of that country. In the 1980’s, many people boycotted all South African products because their product’s conscience was tainted by that

country’s apartheid system.

Just as most consumers don’t select products solely on price or features, a conscientious consumer may not base a product’s purchase solely on the product’s conscience. But consumers with a conscience can easily see that a product’s conscience is worth consideration when making a purchasing decision.

Conscientious Consuming may involve boycotting (punishing) the products of companies and countries whose activities you disapprove of and purchasing (rewarding) the products of companies and countries whose activities have your approval.

The power consumers have to change the conduct and actions of companies comes from their dollars and the choices they make as consumers."

The collective actions of consumers have had power and influence over the behavior of companies for many years. By preferring certain products and avoiding others, the choices that consumers make affect the actions of companies.

In recent years, consumers are beginning to expect more than just good products from companies. They are expecting companies to be good citizens. Consumers expect the conduct and actions of companies to reflect the behavioral norms shared by the majority of consumers.

When a company's conduct and actions are unacceptable to consumers, conscientious consumers can use their influence as consumers to change the company's behavior.

Shortcut to this website: http://www.con-suming.com

Wh y not bec ome a con sce ntious consum er this holida y seaso n?

Au t h o r : L i s a M c L e a n    

Read more about Red Products which guarantee an amount of your purchasing price goes to fight aids in Africa at: http://www.joinred.com/home.asp As presented at The Network in October Alison Kingsbury’s Life Ring can be gifted this Christmas: http://www.thelifering.com/cms/thelifering/index.php My personal favourite, offering something for everyone, for example train a teacher for just 30 British Pounds or buy school dinners for 10 kids 6 GBP!! http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com/ Shop on Route d'Arlon and gifts on: www.unicef.lu

Upc oming Netw ork Events N o v em b e r M e e t i ng Au t h o r : G r o s i a G r o c h a l s k a

Starting Your Own Business- Roundtable Discussion Are you dreaming about starting your own business but you are not sure where to start? This month meeting hosts a round table discussion when our speakers will share their knowledge and experience about Luxembourg’s market. The meeting will take place on Wednesday 15 November, 2006, at 20:00.

Speaker Ms. Claudine Speltz is president of the “Fédération des femmes cheffes d’entreprise luxembourgeoises (FFCEL)” and will discuss her vast experience as an entrepreneur in Luxembourg. Secondly, Ms. Judy Critchley, owner of Précis Language School and OneStopLanguage.net will speak about her years in business and her most recent launch. Finally, the discussion will be rounded off by two representatives from 1,2,3,GO. This organisation is a network of 270 managers and directors from various backgrounds, who share their experiences with future entrepreneurs in order to help them transform their innovative ideas into solid business plans.

Entrance is open to members and non-members alike; or you can become a member on the evening or by joining online.

For more information on membership and events visit www.the-network.lu or email getintouch@the-network.lu

A Few Inspirational W ords...

On entrepreneurial skills “INNOVATION is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service. It is capable of being presented as a discipline, capable of being learned, capable of being practiced. Entrepreneurs need to search purposefully for the sources of innovation, the changes and their symptoms that indicate opportunities for successful innovation. And they need to know and to apply the principles of successful innovation.”

Peter F. Drucker The history of the 'entrepreneur' It would appear that the term 'entrepreneur' is not as 'modern' as some might think.

Italian writer and statesman Niccolo Machiavelli lived between 1469 and 1527 and is quoted as saying, “Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.”

Did you know?

Britain is a nation of entrepreneurs: A new Vodafone report says that more women than men are looking to become self-employed and that 33% of the UK workforce will have started a business by 2011. 1 in 4 new business ventures begin when people start a family and are looking for more flexible working hours and a business they can hand down to their children. Up to 12% of UK adults have set up on their own business, with 6% in the process, and 1/3 considering it.

There is a rise in business mums: Mothers who simultaneously manage nappies and businesses from home are worth £4.4bn to the British economy, according to a new study by Yellow Pages. It found that after the birth of their first child 'Kitchen Table Tycoons' feel more satisfied running their own business and are more motivated by flexibility. The report indicates that 43% of business mums feel they have the relevant skills before considering a start-up venture.

Luxem bour g's Entrepren eur Of the Year 2006 : And the winner is ...

Ernst & Young organized, for the second time in Luxembourg, “Le Grand Prix de l’Entrepreneur de l’Année”, already well-known and highly covered in 40 countries around the world. Six finalists have been chosen by the jury. The Luxembourg winner was unveiled to the public during a gala dinner on October 26, 2006 in the Domaine Thermal of Mondorf in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

The prize is given to an entrepreneur who is known to be dynamic and pesevering. The prize went to Mr Abbas Rafii, Directeur General of the company Ireco S.A. The prize was presented by Mr Jeannot Krecké, Minister of the Economy.

Since its creation 30 years ago Ireco has been developing and become a reference within its trade for the production of grilled pistachio nuts in the European market.

T he Goldman Sach s Women’s Netw ork Sponsors hip

The Goldman Sachs Women’s Network Sponsorship is a reflection of the company's corporate culture and Business Principles. It is awarded in recognition of outstanding students and the achievements they have made during their undergraduate careers.

Alongside a paid internship position at Goldman Sachs, recipients are awarded a £5,000 (or Euro equivalent) sponsorship in support of their final-year academic studies and living expenses, and are partnered with a mentor who will help ensure a rewarding internship experience both prior to joining and during the internship.

Please note that candidates of both genders and all academic disciplines are eligible to apply.

Opportunities are available in various divisions throughout the firm, including but not limited to: Equities; Finance (Controllers,Corporate Treasury, Credit); Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities; Human Capital Management; Investment Banking;Investment Management; Merchant Banking; Operations; and echnology.

The deadline for applications is the 30 December 2006.

For more information and to apply for the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Network Sponsorship, please visit: http://www2.goldmansachs.com/careers/about_goldman_sachs/diversity/internships_scholarships/index.html

Sho p 'til you stop n ot 'til you dr op Some unusual gifts can be found at: www.argos.co.uk General gifts www.theoriginalgift.co.uk General gifts www.brightminds.co.uk Intellectual gifts for kids www.buyagift.co.uk General gifts www.hotelchocolat.co.uk Delicious chocolate presents http://www.perfect-soldiers.co.uk / Very British - perfect toast soldiers www.firebox.com Unusual gifts http://www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk General gifts http://www.prezzybox.com Unusual Gifts http://www.uk4you.com UK products 4 U http://www.bpm.lu Save money while you shop and have it all delivered to Luxembourg if you wish.

T he Show Must Go On All the world is a stage and we are all just players on it... so make sure you have time to play this winter. How about a trip to one of the many theatres that are on your doorstep.

London Theatre http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/london/shows The Nutcracker is playing at four different theatres (Editor's favourite at Royal Opera House) or ..Dick Whittington and his Cat at the Barbican (Editor's 5yr old's choice)..or...Billy Elliot.(editor's mum's favorite).or..The Sound of Music (Editor's daughter's absolute favourite)..or...The Producers..(Editor's husband didn't get it).. .La Traviata or Swan Lake .. the list goes on...

Paris Theatre http://www.operadeparis.fr/# Luxembourg Theatrehttp://www.theater-vdl.lu/

Future Meetings - Dates for yo u r Diaries ď&#x201A;ˇ

November 15- Starting your own Business-roundtable discussion with guest speakers Claudine Speltz, Judy Critchley and representatives from 1,2,3 Go at Sofel, doors open 7.30 speakers at 8.00pm

 

December 13th - The Network Anniversary at Mudam (members only) January 25th- Start 2007 With a Clear Head. Elisa Jenson talks about organizational skills

General Information PW C Ac a d e m y N ov e m b e r C o u r s e PWC Academy is hosting a course called 'Manager au Féminin' in French on November 27th and 28th.

This event is organised with the patronage of Minister Marie-Josée Jacobs (Ministre de l'égalité des Chances) at PWC Academy. For further details contact PWC Academy on 494848-4040

Deadline for the Decem ber 2006 Newsletter Submissions for the December 2006 newsletter should reach the Editor on or by December 4th 2006. Our contact details are listed here.

C o n t a c t D et a i l s To advertise on the Network website, or in the newsletter, please check the details on the website.

If you would like to recommend the Network to a colleague or friend, details are published here.

For contact details of the current Network Team, click here.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions of authors expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Network.

T he Netw ork New sletter Decem ber 200 6 International Business & Professional Network asbl (Established 1991)

The Network asbl 45, rue des Templiers L-7343 STEINSEL e-mail: getintouch@the-network.lu website: http://www.the-network.lu

Preside nt's Letter

Dear networkers, Well we have made it to the end of another year. And I must thank you and the committee for a great experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed heading up our group over the past nine months and look forward to the rest of The Network year when we come back after the holidays. I am very proud of the monthly events that we have put on, I think we have managed to get interesting speakers and I particularly enjoyed the last round table event when we saw a good number of old and new members turnout to hear inspirational talks about starting your own business. I am really looking forward to our anniversary event next week, we reached capacity on our numbers for the tour at the Mudam, so I hope not too many of you have been disappointed. However, we still have a few spaces available for the dinner afterwards, so if you would like to join us please sign up on the website. I would like to thank Viviane Bumb for all her hard work for organising this event.

On that note I will leave you and hope to see happy faces on Wednesday at the Mudam. If you can't make that one, then feel free to bring your happiest face to the January meeting when Elisa Jenson will help us start the year with better organisational skills.

Happy holidays, Jacq

Editor's Notes H ow F i s h O u t of W a t e r M a d e th e N e t W or k f o r T h e m Au t h o r : L i s a M c L e a n I will keep this brief as I sometimes think this is my monthly blog to the world and wonder if it is value added. One thing I wanted to mention was the Pass2007 for 100â&#x201A;Ź you can buy a card that gives you free entrance to 40+ exhibitions that are on next year. The opening event for Luxembourg 2007 is of course this Saturday, so look forward to seeing you there.

In anticipation of our 15th Anniversary celebration on the 13th of December I tool the liberty of getting in touch with Marty Putz who was one of the original networkers. She insisted that Larue Hall and Cynthia Brubacker were the real inspiration behind our incarnation and she kindly contacted Larue for her reflections on all those years ago. Like so many great ideas that women have, the creation of The Network could be seen as a knee jerk reaction to circumstance or indeed the identification of a niche market. Either way it is thanks to a few movers and groovers 15 years ago that we are who we are.

Here is Larueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s email about how it all began: Ladies,

Here is the network start up, as I remember it. Cyn Brubacker and I met once for lunch, after we discovered each other at an art circle tour. We recognized that each of us felt like a fish out of water since we were no longer working, after being super professional women, who obviously took a sense of self from our work. So, we made a date to meet with the promise of bringing along a friend/acquaintance who felt the same...and then there were four.

At that lunch, we decided to put an announcement in the Lux News to see if there were any more fish out there, and low and behold at the first meeting, held at the then American International School, about 20-25 women showed up! So you see that is how your history started and we are delighted that it continues with lots of super women...like yourself...

T he Fish Who Didn 't Get Aw ay Au t h o r : M a r t y P u t z -T h e N e tw o r k ' s 1 s t P r e s i d e n t Originally called “Internet”, The Network was founded as a networking association by some very go-ahead women : Larue Hall, Cynthia Brubacker, Mercedes Ponce and a couple of others, as a pendant to the "American Businessmen's Association" their husbands all belonged to. It was an ideal networking association for businessmen to establish new contacts, but what was there for women ?? Something had to be done.

Presenting their idea of founding a parallel in the feminine to the American Businessmen’s Association at one their luncheons, these ladies raised a few smirks from the "men" in the audience. I happened to be at the luncheon, representing my (male) boss, and was glad for the congenial company of these women in this male world.

Ex-pat like all of them, (although originally from Luxembourg, but having lived many years in South Africa), I found the idea very appealing and I asked if I could join…. And that was it : I was promptly invited to their next working-committeemeeting of 8, and was horrified when , a few weeks later, a phone call announced me that "we democratically appointed you President".

All my objections, recriminations: can't do it ! have never been president in my life !!! fell on deaf ears. It was of course a good idea to have a "local yokel" along with an understanding of the local difficulties, but the real power came from those adventurous, knowledgeable women from the "new countries". And since a President is only as good as his committee - and THAT committee was good and going - INTERNET grew, attracting more and more "ex-pats" of different nationalities.

Then came the news: we shall have to change our name, because out there is a new company by the name of INTERNET. Should we have claimed First right to it ? Truly feminine diplomacy: we found yet a better name: “The NETWORK”.

And the development from there on, you all know better than me. New blood, young businesswomen, stacks of talent and know-how, fantastic speakers, tremendous growth and lots of networking and fun. Great professionalism. I am in awe and admiration and can only say: Bravo, carry on the wonderful job.

Meeting in Review Au t h o r : T h e l m a N a e g e l e The Network' s November meeting hosted a most interesting round table discussion when Claudine Speltz Président of the 'Fédération des Chefs d'entreprises Luxembourgeois' and Judy Critchley, owner of Précis Language School and OnestopLanguage.net shared their experience and described their achievements and difficulties about setting up their own business in Luxembourg. Rachel Gaessler and Alain Clemens of Luxinnovation explained how the project 1,2,3 Go for the Great Region promotes entrepreneurs with innovative ideas to create their own company.

Claudine Spelt After the birth of her daughter, Claudine Speltz participated in social economic events and followed a fiscal course. Later in life, in 1987 she started her own business very modestly on her own. Setting up a business is hard work but this is not a problem if one is motivated and passionate. When you are alone in your business, you are free to control your own time and it is your choice how far you want your business to grow. Most problems encountered center around the lack of crèches and 'garderies' in Luxembourg and the rigidity of the Labour law (Droit du travail). New entrepreneurs should be trained on managing people as the problems arise when engaging staff for one's own business. Claudine mentioned that mentalities should change concerning the equality of chances between men and women working. A woman who

wishes to start her own business should be very careful in her choice of a life partner!

Her wishes: An entrepreneur must develop knowledge on people management; the school system should be improved; the labor law is too rigid and should be improved.

Judy Critchley After teaching languages in Bermuda, Judy came to Luxembourg in 1999 with her husband and was motivated by her biggest ambition: to a language school and create the biggest language school database on the internet. Judy believes that her passion for her work has made her surmount all types of challenges: she followed IT programs, learned about accounting, labour law, and how to manage staff. Thanks to the Network, she met the ideal candidates to help her with her website and her marketing and daily work. She realised that to be different to other language schools, the corporate route was the niche, and she started 'OnestopLanguage.net'. From her experience, entrepreneurs are natural problem solvers.

Her advice: Be passionate; Have a sense of humor, be better than the competition, employ motivated persons, be flexible, treat your staff well, pay more, keep good track of finances.

1,2,3,Go This initiative promotes enterprises in the Greater Region: Belgium until Brussels, Lorraine, Trier, Luxembourg. The project was launched in April 2000 and is supported by numerous financial partners and press partners participating in this business initiative.

Rachel Gaessler explained that the project is based on the Mckinsey concept: attract coaches to give advice to new entrepreneurs who have innovative ideas. Luxinnovation is the contact point in Luxembourg and is a private and public partnership promoting the 1,2,3,Go project. There are other contact points in the other regions.

An entrepreneur who wishes to get advice and belong to the 1,2,3, Go project must meet the following criteria: 1. Have an innovative project 2. Offer a growth potential 3. Be located in the Great Region.

A competition is held to reward the entrepreneur of the Greater Region with the best business plan. There are 3 interregional meetings held annually.

Over the last year, more than 150 companies have been where created providing more than 600 jobs.

Alain Clemens explained that Luxinnovation started in 1984 and employs 20 specialists. Its mission is to promote and facilitate innovative activities and research and development. The objectives are to be the first contact towards innovation and research; to assist companies by providing useful information; to give technical assistance; to facilitate installation of business (LBAN), to provide feedback to the business; to provide some 280 coachers most adapted to the same sector as the requestor; to follow-up on business created; to promote the network of businesses. www.123go-networking.org is the portal for 1,2,3 Go and is translated in 3 languages.

T he Why Don 't You Sw itch Off Your T V set and go an d do Somethin g Less Boring Instea d List for December Au t h o r : P . S . S o r r y i t i s i n F r e n c h , I l o v e y o u a l l d e a r l y b u t . . . c o u r t e s y o f w w w .w i n t e r l i g ht s . l u

Samedi, 09/12/06 OUVERTURE « Luxembourg et Grande Région Capitale européenne de la culture 2007» Marché bi-hebdomadaire | Place Guillaume II | 7h00 Concert « Fanfare Niederdonven » | Place d’Armes | 11h00 Concert « Chorale du Beynert-Jean Bruyère » | Place d’Armes | 16h00 Concert « Ensemble Brillante » | Place d’Armes | 18h00 Cirque « Manège d’Avent » | Champ des Glacis | 16h00/20h00 Théâtre « Auf dem Land » | Théâtre des Casemates | 20h00 Concert classique « Fin de la présidence finlandaise de l’UE » | Conservatoire de Musique | 20h00 Théâtre « Le Minotaure » | T.O.L. | 20h30 Concert « The Maria Schneider Orchestra »Philharmonie | 21h00 Concert ”Tribute to the Beatles” | Abbaye de Neumünster | 21h00 Dimanche, 10/12/06 Ouverture dominicale des magasins en ville | 14h00-18h00 Apero’s Jazz « Michel Pilz Trio » | Abbaye Neumünster | 11h30 Concert « International School of Luxembourg » | Place d’Armes 14h00 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux. 16h00 Concert « Les Musiciens» – Orchestre de Chambre du Luxembourg » | Philharmonie 17h00 Danse « Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui | Grand Théâtre 20h00 Théâtre « A wat elo ? » | Théâtre des Capucins | 20h00

Concert « Ouverture Luxembourg 2007 » | Philharmonie | 20h00 Cirque « Manège d’Avent » | Champ des Glacis | 14h30/18h00 Théâtre « Le Minotaure » | T.O.L. | 20h30 Lundi, 11/12/06 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux. 10h00/14h00 Théâtre « Santo subito ! » | Théâtre du Centaure | 20h00 Théâtre « A wat elo ? » | Théâtre des Capucins | 20h00 Concert « Solistes Européens, Luxembourg » | Philharmonie 20h00 Mardi, 12/12/06 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux. 10h00 Cirque « Manège d’Avent » | Champ des Glacis | 16h00/20h00 Théâtre « Nature morte dans un fossé » | Théâtre des Capucins | 20h00 Théâtre « Santo subito ! » | Théâtre du Centaure | 20h00 Concert « Marc Copland/David Liebmann »Philharmonie | 20h00 Mercredi, 13/12/06 Marché bi-hebdomadaire | Place Guillaume II | 7h00 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht | Théâtre National du Lux. | 10h00/14h00 Concert Réimecher Jugendmusek, Place d'Armes, 18h00 Concert Staater Blechbléiser | Place d’Armes | 19h00 Théâtre « A wat elo ? » | Théâtre des Capucins | 20h00 Jeudi, 14/12/06 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux. 10h00 Cirque « Manège d’Avent » | Champ des Glacis | 16h00/20h00 Théâtre « Nature morte dans un fossé » | Théâtre des Capucins | 20h00 Concert « SOS Villages d’enfants du monde » | Philharmonie 20h00 Vendredi, 15/12/06 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux. 10h00/14h00 Concert « Ensemble Alles Blech » | Place d’Armes | 16h00 Concert « Fanfare Concordia Beckerich » | Place d’Armes | 18h00 Le Père Noël à l"Auberge : Chansons de Noël, musique luxembourgeoise et menu spécial | Auberge de Jeunesse | 19h00 Cirque « Manège d’Avent » | Champ des Glacis | 20h00 Danse « Israel Galvan – La Edad de Oro » | Grand Théâtre | 20h00 Théâtre « Réception du diable » | Théâtre des Capucins | 20h00 Concert « Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg » | Philharmonie | 20h00 Théâtre « Le Minotaure » | T.O.L. | 20h30 Euro Racing Show | LuxExpo Samedi, 16/12/06 Marché bi-hebdomadaire | Place Guillaume II | 7h00 Concert « Ensemble Krëschtmaart Saxitude » | Place d’Armes | 11h00 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux.| 16h00 Concert « Fanfare La Réunion Hostert » | Place d’Armes | 16h00 Concert « The Christmas Tree Singers » | Place d’Armes | 15h00 Concert « Ensemble Brillante » | Place d’Armes | 18h00 Cirque « Manège d’Avent » | Champ des Glacis | 16h00/20h00 Danse « Israel Galvan – Arena | » | Grand Théâtre | 20h00 Théâtre « Nature morte dans un fossé » | Théâtre des Capucins | 20h00 Concert « Hermes Ensemble » | Philharmonie | 20h00 Euro Racing Show | LuxExpo Dimanche, 17/12/06 Ouverture dominicale des magasins en ville | 14h00-18h00 Cirque « Manège d’Avent » | Champ des Glacis | 14h30/20h00 Concert « Chorale Sélange » | Place d’Armes | 15h00 Concert « Fanfare Itzig » | Place d’Armes | 16h00 | Concert d'Avent Musique Militaire Grand-Ducale, Eglise SacréCoeur,Gare, 16h00 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux. 16h00 Christmas Parade | Gare – Centre | 17h00 Concert « Ensemble MIDA » | Place d’Armes | 17h00 Concert d’Avent « Musique Militaire grand-ducale" | Eglise Sacré-Cœur | 17h00

Concert « Eecher Musek » | Place d’Armes | 18h00 Concert « Ensemble Wien-Berlin » | Philharmonie | 20h00 Théâtre « Le Minotaure » | T.O.L. | 20h30 Euro Racing Show | LuxExpo Concert ”Manfed Mann’s Earth Band” | Den Atelier | 21h00 Lundi, 18/12/06 Concert « Il Giardino Armonico » | Philharmonie | 20h00 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux. 10h00/14h00 Mardi, 19/12/06 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux. 10h00 Théâtre « Origine, Schwester von » | Grand Théâtre | 20h00 Théâtre « Le Barbier de Seville » | Théâtre des Capucins | 20h00 Concert ”New York Voices” | Philharmonie | 21h00 Mercredi, 20/12/06 Marché bi-hebdomadaire | Place Guillaume II | 7h00 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux. 10h00/14h00 Concert « Chorale Princesse Marie-Astrid Mondercange » | Place d’Armes | | 18h00 Théâtre « Oresteia » | Grand Théâtre | 19h00 Théâtre « Le Barbier de Seville » | Théâtre des Capucins | 20h00 Concert « Robert Holl & András Schiff » | Philharmonie | 20h00 Jeudi, 21/12/06 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux. | 10h00 Concert Chorale Prélude Habay-la-Vieille | Place d'Armes | 18h00 Théâtre « Oresteia » | Grand Théâtre | 19h00 Théâtre « Le Barbier de Seville » | Théâtre des Capucins | 20h00 Concert « Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg » | Philharmonie 20h00 Vendredi, 22/12/06 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux. 10h00/14h00 Concert « Les élèves du Conservatoire de Musique de la ville de Luxembourg » | Eglise Protestante 12h30 Concert « Chorale Sang & Klang Pfaffenthal » | Place d’Armes | | 17h00 Concert « Fanfare Municipale de Hamm » | Place d’Armes | 18h00 Concert « Pink » | La Coque | 20h00 Concert « Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg » | Philharmonie 20h00 Samedi, 23/12/06 Marché bi-hebdomadaire | Place Guillaume II | 7h00 Concert « Fanfare Municipale Luxembourg-Bonnevoie » | Place d’Armes 11h00 Concert « Harmonikasfrënn Luxembourg » | Place d’Armes | 15h00 Concert « Best of Christmas by Jimmy Wagner & Friends » | Place d’Armes | 16h00 Chorale Beggener Karmeschen | Place d’Armes | 18h00 Concert de Noël baroque « Orchestre de Chambre de Heidelberg » | Eglise Protestante | 17h00 Dimanche, 24/12/06 Concert « Roland Rech » | Place d’Armes | 14h00 Concert « Ensemble Brillante » | Place d’Armes | 16h00 Lundi, 25/12/06 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux. | 16h00 Zürecher Bal | Alvisse Parc Hotel | 22h00 Mardi, 26/12/06 Opéra pour enfants « Mozart im Reich von 1001er Nacht » | Théâtre National du Lux. | 16h00 Mercredi, 27/12/06 Marché bi-hebdomadaire | Place Guillaume II | 7h00 Jeudi, 28/12/06 Bréissler Bal | LuxExpo | 22h00 Samedi, 30/12/06

Marché bi-hebdomadaire | Place Guillaume II | 7h00 Dimanche, 31/12/06 Lecker Bal | Chapiteau Place Guillaume II | 22h00

Upc oming Netw ork Events 

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24-Jan - “Start 2007 with a Clear Head” Elisa Jensen talks about • Staying late and desk full of paper: Signs of working hard?

• How to optimize concentration • How to be in control of your emails • How to get rid of backlog 28-Feb - Marketing Trends: Speaker Dan Eischen and a preview of the Year of Culture by a Luxembourg 2007

General Information Deadline for the January 2007 Newsletter Submissions for the January 2007 newsletter should reach the Editor on or by 12 January 2007. Our contact details are listed here.

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