June … middle of the year, with a short advance notice of summer holidays, time for family and/or travel and a few months of ‘regroup’ moments for our members. A wonderful time of the year, in my mind. We have done enough in the first five months to reflect on as well as welcome the time to thoughtfully look ahead.
There are two main achievements the Board of the WBII can reflect on today: one – we finally completed our Annual Reports of the last two years and can reflect on our achievements and the wide variety of activities we have managed to arrange for our members and that our members arranged for one another. We may be a small networking group but we are a varied, diverse and consistent one; providing many opportunities for our members to grow their knowledge, skills, personal networks and experiences. And we are proud of this! Should you wish to take a look through our reports, they can be found on the website and include, for the first time, an overview of our financial situation as well.
Secondly, we have taken a moment to review the pillars of support, what we offer our members and who we are. There are five central pillars to the WBII: Networking; Visibility; Learning; Advocacy; and Community Co-Creation.
Networking – naturally, through our website, the WISE Newsletter and the activities we organise and take part in there are plenty of opportunities for our members to meet others, exchange ideas, consider new ones and build relationships. In terms of Visibility – it remains a ‘silent’ but great benefit to all who are listed on our website – adding to their online presence and being found by people ‘googling’ for the resources they need. Learning is an obvious result of our networking events, where we invite professionals from different fields to share their knowledge with our members, often benefiting the businesses of our membership. And Advocacy – supporting organisations working with, and for, women in different political fields.
But, it is how our members invest in creating a ‘Community’ which hits my heart the most. By joining the WBII – for themselves, as business owners – our members are also investing in ensuring that there is a place, a space, where new businesses can come and find home, find support. Either the businesses of new internationals arriving in the Netherlands or new businesses starting in particular within The Hague.
Well done members, your support is valued!
Deborah Valentine, WBII Chair