Celebration of Women
Celebrating the Success of 1,000 Women
One thousand women joined together for a special celebratory event at Liverpool's
prestigious St George's Hall, on Tuesday 8th March, International Women's Day.
The event, A Celebration of Women, was organised by Train 2000, the Centre for Women's Enterprise and Employment and was held to celebrate the success and achievements of women throughout Merseyside.
Maggie O'Carroll, Train 2000's Executive Director, said:
"Since opening up in 1996 Train 2000 has supported thousands of women into education and employment and has helped many more to start up or develop their own businesses. We wanted to hold this event to celebrate the successes and achievements of all of these women; A Celebration of Women really was for, and about them. "
As part of the event, which was the biggest of its kind in the region, Train 2000's brand new Association of Women on Merseyside was officially launched and following independent research on how best to support Women's Enterprise on Merseyside, Train 2000 revealed plans to establish an Entrepreneurship Centre for Women; which once up and running will be the first of its kind in the country.
Maggie added:
"There is still a long way to go before there is real equality between men and women in terms of entrepreneurship and employment - and that is why we are hoping that all of our past and present clients will join forces to drive forward the economic position of women on Merseyside and through events like this, we really can make a difference. "
Throughout the evening, which was hosted by BBC Radio Merseyside presenter Claire Hamilton, there was a full programme of entertainment including music from contemporary choir Sense of Sound and Nicola Fraser who originally set up in business through Train 2000.
And, Train 2000 clients who have opened up businesses in the arts and creative industries exhibited at the event. Sculptors, jewellerey designers, photographers and artists displayed and sold their work at the event. A networking corner, allowing businesswomen to make new contacts was also a huge success and there was the chance for those attending to find out more about the work of Train 2000.
Maggie added:
"A Celebration of Women was a huge success and we were delighted that so many women were able to attend and seemed to enjoy it so much. "
The event was sponsored and supported by the European Social Fund, the Phoenix Development Fund, Barclays Bank and the North West Development Agency.