During Thanksgiving 2012 my heart is filled to the brim with Gratitude. With almost some hundred committed individuals, presenters, administrators, designers, strategists, volunteers, supporters and partners Women in Innovation Summit 2012 became one of the most remarkable success stories of the year. The summit inspired women to examine their capacities and capabilities for innovation and ignited them to take action locally and globally. We are on our way with the No Brain Left Behind campaign! There is much to be thankful for – My heartfelt thank you!
Women in Innovation – Sustainable Leadership Nominee
Sustainable Seattle – a regional organization founded in 1991 focused on the long-term health and sustainability of Seattle and the Puget Sound region has awarded Sustainable Leadership Awards since 2001 in the categories of Change Agent, Livable Urban Communities, Stewards of Healthy Ecologies and Humans, Vitalizing Local Sustainable Economies, and Sustainable Hero!
To our pleasant surprise, WINS 2012 was nominated for the Change Agent award.
To be nominated is an incredible honor. The winners of each category were announced at the Sustainability Leadership Awards Dinner on November 15th 2012. It means that someone in the Women in Innovation community has deemed our efforts so worthwhile that they put forward a nomination. The nomination has gone through a rigorous vetting process with some 13 judges who are all highly accomplished leaders in our community.
This is what was said about us:
In September 2012, the first ever Women in Innovation Summit (WINS) was held at Seattle Center, led by Kristiina Hiukka. This new concept for gathering passionate women to share, collaborate, and innovate to solve our world sustainability problems started as a seed of an idea. It grew into a conference involving 100 volunteers applying their skills to create the first ever conference of its kind. Ideas were not only shared but catalyzed with follow-on actions. Since the conference, a number of actions have taken off including community sharing of socially conscious purchasing choices through the hashtag #pursepower. The concept for the conference was to hear from inspiring leaders, then come together in working groups to participate in shared innovation, developing tangible proposals and commitments from participants to take the ideas forward that would be most likely to bring about lasting change. The conference resulted in tangible action.
The fact that WINS was at the table with the most remarkable leaders in sustainability is a humbling honor. I’m still deeply moved by the recognition.
The winner of the Change Agent Award was BEST (Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking) Alliance led by Mar Smith, a non-profit organization. In 2012, BEST and partners successfully advocated for the passage of a key piece of legislation to prevent human trafficking in foot massage facilities. Since their efforts began, investigations into human trafficking and illegal massage in Washington have increased substantially thanks to the diligence of legislators, the Department of Health, ICE, and law enforcement. BEST forged another key partnership with the Washington Lodging Association leading to collaborative efforts between leaders in the local lodging industry, law enforcement, and victim service providers for sex trafficking prevention in local communities.
We congratulate BEST whole heartedly!
At the Women in Innovation Summit 2012 on September 22, Andrea Wenet, Executive Director of our sponsoring partnerAshoka Seattle shared with us a video about She Will Innovate program – here is an update of the winners: Ashoka She Will Innovate. We congratulate all the winners – all of whom are making life better for girls and women around the world.
Want to re-live WINS2012?
You can now view the summit online on-demand at your leisure:http://wins2012stream.com.
If you click “Content on-Demand” you can choose portions of the program you are most interested in. In the “Program Overview” you can scroll through the day by notations of the time and topics.
Please, send us your feedback, comments, questions and suggestions – we are keen to hear back from you. Contact@womenininnovationsummit.org.
#PursePower Campaign
November 29th 5:45pm-8.00pm
The Audacious Challenge Forum on Economy produced a key initiative in helping women own their purchasing power by establishing a Twitter handle named #pursepower. Just in time for holiday shopping we want to remind everyone of the power of the purse! Those with ideas and interest in actively pursuing citizen activism through the #pursepower campaign are invited to a follow-up meeting on Thursday, November 29th at 5:45pm-8pm in Seattle. We have room for just 20 people – so sign up quickly. Appetizers, wine and hot cider will be provided. Register here by November 27th to receive further details.
Ignite Innovation Forum
December 18th 11:30am-1:30pm
What’s simmering two months after the summit? Come share what inspires you to innovate and have a chance to be featured in the WIN-video produced by TPN. We are igniting the first Women in Innovation Forum, a follow-up to the summit, on December 18th at 11.30am-1.30pm in Seattle. Reserve your place today at this brown bag lunch event as we have an exciting program and only 20 seats available. Register here by November 15th to receive further information. $15.