Finding balance summit

Our school was invited to the Global ‘Finding Balance’ Summit in partnership with Patron Akie Abe, First Lady of Japan on 21 October. The Summit at Westminster was invite only and the school was asked to contribute to the global conversation around female empowerment and equality. A group of nine Sixth Form day and boarding students attended.

Professor Susan Madsen from Utah Valley University and a Fellow of the Leadership Trust Foundation in Ross-On Wye specialises is Leadership and Ethics spoke at the Summit and discussed the characteristics of women who had reached top positions in any chosen field, academic or the private sector. She explained that the role of educators was to enable every girl and young women to believe that they could become a leader in their chosen career path. Professor Madsen told the attendees that changes must come from within; all women must aspire to be influential.

Changes from within is a concept which Denis Murphy focused upon in his talk, bringing to life ideas such as the importance of changing one’s mind set to not look for excuses. Mr Murphy spoke about the ability each of us has to rewire our brain in order to be happy. Happiness is not a due which is deserved systematically but is obtainable if we work at it. In a nutshell: take responsibility for your own life.

The Summit was delivered in English and was filmed to create a global documentary in alignment with the Tokyo and Dubai Summits. The output will be a documentary and a report of recommendations for change that the organisers will share with governments and organisations all over the world. It was a truly inspirational event for our school and especially for our students to be a part of.