“Hacia el sur” (English version) (Southward)

The person I introduce you today is special for many aspects. Many of them are related to entrepreneurship and her powerful professionalism, but there are many others that, without being typical of an entrepreneur and without any doubt, are part of her added value. Her name is Ro Venegas and she is the CEO, image, soul and smile of Hacia el Sur (southwards), her dream project.

If you are interested in getting to know a person who defines herself as cheerful, social, extroverted, but serious and hard-working, and whose objectives include personal and professional growth by working with creative people who are capable of building things out of nothing to make people’s lives more entertaining, you just have to keep reading. (more…)

SAY NO TO WAR

Today I’m going in a different direction than normal. I want to express my total rejection of the barbarism that a “man” has decided to carry out for the sole fact of… What? Honestly, I find no reason but unfounded excuses to end the lives of people, men and women, children, and thousands of young people who have barely begun to live and who have to be unjustly separated from their parents. That’s it if they don’t die before reaching a “safe” place but without their “belongings”, their life, their history, their friends, their home, their city, their town, and their —already broken— dreams.

I’m writing this post with teary eyes and a broken heart due to a situation none of us would like to experience.

Three years ago, in March of 2019, thanks to the MoPED: Modernization of Pedagogical Higher Education by Innovative Teaching Instruments project, and invited by my colleague and teacher of the University of Deusto, Olga Dziabenko, I had the pleasure of travelling to Ukraine to contribute on the training of more than 50 teachers of Higher Education, in my case, related to teacherpreneurs. I discovered the kindness of its people, as well as their traditions and history (and I took a piece of it with me). But honestly, something that caught my eye was that, even though they are not “privileged” in a material level, as I might be, they were people like me, passionate and willing to work and improve, dreaming of going forward and progressing on the education sector, and so thankful and expressing their recognition towards me that they made me feel very valuable.

Today I want to give them back that love, appreciation and acknowledgement to all of them, and, specially, be at their disposal to anything I might be able to offer.

This post goes for them and for Olga Dziabenko, for giving me the opportunity of living firsthand with their Ukrainian colleagues. Thank you, Olga.

SAY NO TO WAR.

Translated by María Ubierna Quintanilla and supervised by Arantza Arruti.

Female Leadership Decalogue

Today I am not going to write a long post. It is not because I don’t feel like writing, but just because I want to share with all of you who follow me a Decalogue that I received some days ago from Javier Freire. It is not just another decalogue but the one on female leadership written by Javier Freire. People who know me will also agree with me that I am pro-leadership as I have been working by and for it for many years (actually, since I got a scholarship to prepare for it more than two decades ago). During the last decade, I have been working for it mainly from the point of view of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship.

The 10 commandments Javier shares with us are in line with the characteristics I defend of the P.E. A woman leader is:

  1. Passion and energy, she does not compare herself and does not compete with others.
  2. “Real” and puts people at the centre.
  3. Creative, she creates new spaces for both teams and markets.
  4. Recognizes the talent of people.
  5. Sensitive, empathetic and knows how to listen and accompany people in their processes of change.
  6. Maintains a balance between personal, family and professional life and with friends.
  7. Creates a free lifestyle where the present is enjoyed. Celebrates life.
  8. Thanks unconditionally. Knows that everything that happens in her life (positive or negative) leads to learning.
  9. Dreams big and goes for it.
  10. Not only dreams but acts. Lives intensely the present and plans his ideal life to 3, 5 and 15 years.

What do you think? Are they different from those of the male leader?

Let’s continue to develop ourselves as leaders, with entrepreneurial characteristics and competences that make us evolve and move forward.

Enjoy these last days of October. A special Christmas season will arrive before you imagine. Oh, and in two weeks, I will introduce you to an entrepreneur woman who earned her P.E. initials a few years ago.

The breakfast burger

On Wednesday the 3rd of June, the second session of the live interviews cycle of Inspira STEAM at home took place, whose aim is to give visibility to female scientists and technologists. I have already talked to you about Inspira STEAM before, but not about today’s protagonist. She is an 18-year-old researcher, inventor, and entrepreneur, who is currently studying her second year of Medicine.

Do you want to know a bit more about this woman? Keep reading. (more…)