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Join us at the Prowess 4th Annual International Conference. Here is all the information you need to reserve your place at the leading event in the women's enterprise support calendar. Join key players in business support, policy and practice at this highly interactive Conference to find out about hot topics such as the UK Women's Enterprise Task Force, the Gender Equality Duty, opportunities for corporate engagement and the Business Support Simplification Programme. Engage in lively debate and discussion as your experience is critical to shaping the women's enterprise agenda. Thursday Roundtable Discussion Groups Marketing and Exhibition Opportunities Conference Booking Hotline: +44 (0)1603 762355 |
Prowess ackowledges the support of:
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The Prowess Annual Conference goes from strength to strength and has sold out for the past two years. Join us in Brighton as national and international delegates meet to discuss all that is topical in the development of women's enterprise. This year we are focussing particularly on the communication and language of business support and how to sustain the market. The conference is aimed at: Providers of business support and finance - network, share experience, learn more about enabling women to start, maintain and grow businesses Policy makers, regional and local government officials and funders - keep updated on strategic developments, hear about successful initiatives Corporate Sector - broaden your understanding of the women's business market Business advisers and trainers - excellent career development opportunity. Make new contacts Researchers and academics - share your expertise, form partnerships Regeneration and non-profit sector professionals - gain ideas on business growth and development, talk about what works and what doesn't Women business owners - become an informed champion and advocate of women's enterprise development |
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Here's what some of last year's delegates had to say about the Annual Prowess Conference: "By far the best conference I have ever attended" - David Jennings, Knowsley Community Based Economic Development "The Prowess Conference provides us all with the perfect environment to be given the latest information, get inspired and meet other amazing men and women who are passionate about getting women into business. Also a great chance for my team and I to create our strategy for the year. This year our Director attended and together we created loads of great ideas to make what we do even better" - Gill Fennings, Her Business "A passion 'top up', helps us all to raise our game" - Stacey Pike, incredit Ltd "Excellent networking and keeps you up to date with current national policy and activity" - Marlene Suart MBE, LeicesterHERday Trust "Absolutely wonderful conference, well run, inspiring and thought - provoking. Most useful conference I've ever attended" - Clare Hollowell, University of Salford "I have made so many important contacts in such a short period of time" Tamara Underwood, European Microfinance Network "If more organisations in the private and public sector spent the same energies as you do helping those around them, we would live in a far better world" Nigel Packer, Business for Business.
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Speakers and Workshop LeadersThe stunning line up of speakers and workshop leaders to date includes:
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Tuesday 6 February 4.00 - 8.00: Registration open at The Old Ship Hotel, Brighton followed by: 7.00 - 8.00: Welcome drinks reception - Greg Ward, Head of Enterprise, SEEDA will welcome delegates 8.00: Evening at your leisure with the option of joining informal dinner groups in Brighton Wednesday 7 February 9.00 - 10.00: Registration and Exhibition Hall open at Brighton Racecourse. Welcome refreshments Facilitator: Jackie Brierton, Prowess Director of Policy and Advocacy 10.00 - 11.20: Women's Enterprise 2007 - Keynote speakers followed by your views, debate and discussion
11.20 - 12.30: Session A: Participate in speed networking facilitated by Tricia Fox or attend your choice of showcase presentation choose from: S1: The Magical Mix: Coaching and NLP for Growth and Change - Gill Fennings, Her Business Centre S2: Women and enterprise: Effective communication to present self employment as a realistic and viable option for women - Janette Faherty, Avanta S3: Intellectual Property: What's that got to do with my business? - Sally Long, The Patent Office S4: Bringing Enterprising Women Together: Bev Hurley, YTKO/Enterprising Women Partnership S5: Sustainable Enterprise and Empowerment Dynamics: Lynne Franks, Chief Executive, SEED 12.30 - 14.00: Lunch and networking in the Exhibition Hall 14.00 - 15.30: Session B: Workshops, choose from: 1A: Marketing business support to women: Sarah McPherson, Prowess 1B: Could you give yourself a job? Eileen Lennon, Incredit 1C: Research strand: Media, marketing and the language of enterprise: Chaired by
Professor Mark Hart, Small Business Research Centre, Kingston University
1D: Impact Evaluation - Proving your worth: Jackie Waring and Debra Blisson 1E: Leadership skills for women: Tracey Carr, Eve-olution 1F: Changing the face of Business for Women: Gita Patel, Stargate Capital Management and a panel of women entrepreneurs including Carole Barnum, Staellium Ltd 1G: Lessons learnt in the South East: Chaired by SEEDA 15.30 - 16.00: Refreshments 16.00 - 17.00: Media and the Market panel discussion followed by Q&A:
19.00 - 19.45: Pre-dinner drinks reception, Brighton Racecourse 19.45 - 22.30: Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony - applaud the finalists and winners of the Outstanding Contributions to Women's Enterprise Development Awards and those organisations achieving Prowess Flagship status 22.30 - Bar and dancing until midnight Thursday 8 February 8.00 - 9.00: Refreshments and networking, Exhibition Hall open at Brighton Racecourse Facilitator: Isabella Moore, Prowess President 9.00 - 9.45: Policy into Practice panel followed by Q&A:
9.45 - 11.15: Session C: Workshops - choose from: 2A: Is blogging the new lobbying? Jackie Brierton, Prowess and Dr Katherine Rake, Fawcett Society 2B: Homeworking: Emma Jones, Redbrick 2C: Women-one size does not fit all: Jayne Garland, Potentia and Iain Willox, Welsh Assembly Government plus a panel of women entrepreneurs 2D: Research strand: Media, marketing and the language of enterprise: Chaired by Muhammad Azam Roomi, Centre for Women's Enterprise, University of Bedfordshire 2E: Simplification of Business support: Tanya Sheridan and Tom Walker, Department of Trade and Industry, Small Business Service 2F: Dragon Fly's Den - Access to Finance for women entrepreneurs: Sally Goodsell, Finance South East 2G: Gender Equality Duty training session - leader tbc 11.15 - 11.45: Refreshments and networking in the Exhibition Hall 11.45 - 12.30: Session D: Roundtable Discussion Groups - Facilitated discussion groups are a great opportunity to interact with delegates who share your area of interest. Click here for options. 12.30 - 13.30: Closing Speakers: 'The Message'
13.30: Close of conference. Delegates will be given a lunch bag to take away. |
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Showcase Presentations - Wed 7 February Delegates can choose to attend one of the following showcase presentations or take part in the speed networking session. S1: The Magical Mix: Coaching and NLP for Growth and Change: Gill Fennings, Her Business Centre Both coaching and NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) have been used in the corporate world as best practice models for many years due to the outstanding results that come from such an investment. This session will explore the benefits of these tools and how to use them to progress even the most challenging clients and meet their needs. It will also give you a real taste of the power of Business Coaching and NLP and help you see why they have become the Her Business USP. S2: Women and enterprise: Effective communication to present self employment as a realistic and viable option for women: Janette Faherty, Avanta S3: Intellectual Property: What's that got to do with my business? Sally Long, The Patent Office “What is worth copying is worth protecting,” so spoke the judge in a copyright dispute in 1916, and his words are just as valid today. It is a plain fact of modern business life that if your intellectual property gets you market share, then your competitors are going to want to copy it. Almost every business uses aspects of intellectual property: it could be in the name it trades under, the process it uses or the products and services it provides. Businesses must be in a position to make informed decisions about protecting the IP they create - come and find out more. S4: Bringing Enterprising Women Together: Bev Hurley, YTKO/Enterprising Women Partnership The EEDA-ESF funded Enterprising Women programme is setting a new benchmark for best practice in women’s enterprise support delivery. From part-time social enterprise to high growth science and technology, from pre-start to established business, the unique and highly innovative approach has generated massive participation from women and business support organisations. Bev Hurley, Chief Executive of YTKO, leads the partnership of experts and will discuss this innovative approach. S5: Sustainable Enterprise and Empowerment Dynamics: Lynne Franks, Tribal Education and Technology CTAD Lynne Franks, Chief Executive of SEED (Sustainable Enterprise and Empowerment Dynamics) will give a taster session on SEED: Women into Enterprise: the feminine way to create business is a product that has been recently developed by CTAD in collaboration with Lynne. It is an exciting, creative, and holistic program that enables women to examine who they are as individuals, to explore their talents and desires, and to create and establish their own business enterprise which is in tune with their feminine beliefs and values. SEED provides a refreshingly new and dynamic approach to business creation and is aimed particularly at women from marginalized and disadvantaged groups. Lynne will provide an engaging, interactive talk on women and enterprise and the main elements of the SEED programme. She will be joined by Rob Weaver who will talk about ‘perceptions of what women want’ within enterprise and how the SEED programme works to address such perceptions.
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Session B: Wednesday Workshops - Wed 7 February 14.00 - 15.30 1A: Marketing business support to women: Sarah McPherson, Prowess 1B: Could you give yourself a job? Eileen Lennon, Incredit 1C: Research strand: Media, marketing and the language of enterprise: Chaired by Professor Mark Hart, Small Business Research Centre, Kingston University
1D: Impact Evaluation: Proving your worth: Jackie Waring and Debra Blisson 1E: Leadership skills for women: Tracey Carr, Eve-olution 1F: Changing the face of business for women: led by Gita Patel, Stargate Capital Management and a panel of entrepreneurs including Carole Barnum, Staellium Ltd 1G: Lessons learnt in the South East: Chaired by SEEDA The South East Enterprise Gateway Network is one initiative that champions women's enterprise, aiming to encouraging self-employment, particularly amongst hard to reach groups: almost 60% of its clients are women. It is a joint programme between SEEDA and the South East Business Links. Enterprise Gateway Directors will share their ideas and learnings - giving a frank view of women's enterprise activity in the south east region. |
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Session C: Thursday Workshops - 8 February 9.45 - 11.15 2A: Is blogging the new lobbying? Jackie Brierton, Prowess and Dr Katherine Rake, Fawcett Society With a bewildering range of new information channels available to businesses and organisations, there are literally dozens of ways we can communicate our messages, products or services. But effective communication has never been more challenging, particularly when lobbying and advocacy are an essential part of an organisation's mission. Fawcett and Prowess both use lobbying and advocacy to get their messages over and have a gender theme in common. This workshop will highlight successful examples and how we can use new media technology to achieve our lobbying and advocacy goals. The aim of the workshop is to focus on best practice in lobbying and advocacy - with a focus on new media opportunities. 2B: Homeworking: Emma Jones, Redbrick 2C: Women-one size does not fit all: Jayne Garland, Potentia and Iain Willox, Welsh Assembly Government and a panel of women entrepreneurs Showcasing the outcomes of Potentia, an holistic support project from Wales which has worked with over 5,000 clients providing pre-start up support to women as well as lone parents, ethnic minorities, disabled people, young people, people aged over 50 and Welsh speakers. A panel of women clients in receipt of support will demonstrate how the cross-cutting approach has helped them overcome a dual set of barriers and issues. 2D: Research strand: Media, marketing and the language of enterprise: Chaired by Muhammad Azam Roomi, Centre for Women's Enterprise, University of Bedfordshire
2E: Business Support Simplification: Tanya Sheridan and Tom Walker, Department of Trade and Industry Small Business Service 2F: Dragon Fly's Den - Access to Finance for women entrepreneurs: Sally Goodsell, Finance South East 2G: Gender Equality Duty training session: leader tbc |
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Thursday Roundtable Discussion Groups Facilitated topical discussion groups are a great opportunity to interact with delegates who share your area of interest DTI: The language of enterprise
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Marketing and Exhibition OpportunitiesProwess has established a reputation for high profile, informative and interactive events. We are expecting 300 - 350 delegates in Brighton making this a fantastic opportunity to promote your organisations services and events. The Exhibition Hall will be open throughout the conference and will be the key space for all networking and refreshment breaks. It also provides a fantastic forum for women business owners to sell their products, raise their profile, make great contacts and obtain valuable advice from other exhibitors. Alternatively, you may wish to consider including promotional materials in the delegate bags. Click here to download the Marketing Opportunities Guidelines and Booking form "The Prowess Conference was one of the best conferences we’ve ever exhibited at in terms of the excellent networking, great atmosphere and contacts made" - Frea O’Brien, Customer First UK Back to the Top |
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Prowess has arranged special conference delegate rates with a number of hotels in Brighton. The conference venue is non-residential but all hotels we have listed are on Brighton sea front and in close proximity to each other. A courtesy shuttle bus will run between the venue and the sea front throughout the conference. You are advised to reserve your hotel accommodation before 1st December to take advantage of these preferential rates. |
Prowess - The UK association of organisations and individuals who support women to start and grow businesses.Prowess reserves the right to amend the 4th Annual International Conference programme and speakers list. © Prowess Ltd 2006. Lion House, 20-28 Muspole Street, Norwich NR3 1DJ Tel: +44 ( 0)1603 762355 Fax: +44 (0)1603 227090 www.prowess.org.uk - the UK-wide gateway to local women friendly business support
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