2022 has been a momentous year for the AVIXA Women’s Council UK, hosting its first Northern event at Liverpool’s new flagship building, confirming motivational speakers of all professional and sporting backgrounds, tackling pertinent topics and attracting wider audiences – all with the aim to support and empower women (and men) in the technology and AV industry. Organising a balanced mix of face-to-face networking events and webinars, the objective has been to make these events as inclusive and accessible as possible with live streaming and recordings available.
AVIXA Women’s Council UK,
2022 events
January – Webinar on ‘Imposter Syndrome’ with speaker Jo Hind.
March – On-site event. International Women’s Day “Break the BIAS” panel at Crestron, Weybridge.
May – On-site event. ‘Shared Experiences Panel’ at ISE Barcelona.
June – Onsite event. “Wellness and Workplace Change” with keynote Debra Stevens at The Spine, Liverpool.
September – Webinar on ‘Self-Limiting Beliefs’. Keynote Monique Wintle-Camp.
October – On-site Breakfast event with “Career Building” panel. Midwich TechXpo, Ascot.
November – Webinar on “Goal Setting” with business coach Martin Purvis.
December – Christmas event and keynote with Naomi Riches MBE at Aura, London.
Visit the AVIXA Women’s Council UK website for the latest recording and shared experiences toolkit.
Securing the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), at The Spine in Liverpool, as the onsite venue for the first Northern event was a great result; thanks to committee members Erica Whittle (Pure AV) and Samantha Bews (LG) who were involved in the AV element of the RCP project . The Spine will soon be Platinum WIRED Certified, meaning it is one of the healthiest and most intelligent buildings in the UK, and won Education Project of the Year at the AV Awards 2023.
Despite train strikes causing travel issues for some, the event was well attended and was live streamed to a virtual audience. Guest speaker at the event was Debra Stevens, coach, trainer and author of “Stand Out – 5 Key Skills to Advance Your Career”, who delivered an interactive presentation on the topic of empathetic leadership.
Paul Milligan, editor of Inavate Magazine moderated a panel session on “Wellness and Workplace Design” with panellists Angela Townsend (SMART Technologies), Cathy Hardman (RCP), Iffat Chaudhry (Whatiff) and Ben Pain (RCP). In addition to interesting viewpoints on work life balance, impact of covid on building design and the role of AV in the building project planning phase, Cathy Hardman provided an insightful introduction to The Spine building.
Interestingly, the natural pattern of the exterior was modelled on a giraffe, with 23 million polygons etched on the North, South, East and West of the building, and it gets its name from the 2 stairwells at the rear. The natural light that this design lets in, together with clean air filtration, provides a calming effect and aids regular sleep patterns. It is a truly phenomenal building; one to be visited, appreciated and experienced.
The webinar that attracted the most attention and attendance, with 118 participants, was the “Self-Limiting Beliefs – How to get out of your own way” coaching session with Monique Wintle-Camp in September. Monique was an energetic and sparkling speaker, who raised questions about the way we see ourselves, our assumptions about how the world works and how in some way they hold us back from achieving what we’re really capable of. Our subconscious mind accounts for 95% of what we are thinking and our beliefs are largely set by the age of seven. During the talk, she looked at techniques to identify and understand personal liming beliefs and proposed simple steps to overcome the, reframe them and reap incredible results.
The most recent webinar was on “Goal Setting – Transform your personal and working life” with Martin Purvis, who provided useful advice and tips for visualising goals – whether related to finance, career, family or health and fitness – making them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Measurable) and then choosing to be accountable by planning and setting deliverables.
In light of the recent global report from AVIXA called ‘Are Women Welcome in AV?’, in which research showed that women are hugely underrepresented in the AV industry, the topic of career building is clearly pertinent and calls for fundamental change. At Midwich TechExpo in October, Biamp sponsored a “Career Building Breakfast”, which kicked off with Sarah Joyce (AVIXA) talking about her career journey and experiences, followed by a panel session about advancing your career with Sadie Groom (Bubble Agency), Mina Machacek (Talent Acquisition Specialist), Stephen Patterson (Biamp) and Denise O’Keeffe (Woop Jobs).
The AVIXA Women’s Council UK is always on the lookout for new and interesting venues as well as sponsorship to help fund refreshments and contribute to guest speaker fees. The more the council expands its reach and accessibility in the UK, widens its scope of topics in support of diversity, inclusion and encouraging more talent into AV careers, the better the future will be for the industry overall. If, as you read this, you have any ideas or requests for future events, in-person or virtual, please share by emailing AWCUK@avixa.org
See you at ISE 2023, 31 January to 3 February, where there will be a networking event on the AVIXA booth
