Leader for a Day 2024, “Inspire Inclusion” in Uruguay
The British Embassy in Montevideo celebrated the fourth edition of the initiative that promotes the professional growth of young women.
On International Women’s Day, we celebrated the fourth edition of an initiative which brings together and connects leaders of Uruguayan society with young women.
‘Leader for a Day’ was launched on March 7 with a breakfast at the Residence of Ambassador Faye O’Connor. The event gave 18 winners the opportunity to network and meet the leaders with whom they later shared a day. Our leaders came from politics and diplomacy, business and entrepreneurship, science, defence, and journalism.
The Ambassador opened the event, emphasizing the growth of the initiative since 2021, and the expansion of the Embassy’s women’s network.
All leaders shared words about their experience. The Vice-President of the Republic, Beatriz Argimón mentioned the importance of “sharing her life and opening spaces for young women coming after her”.
The Minister of Labour, Pablo Mieres, highlighted the need for men to get involved in these activities. He also stressed “the progress that has been made in 20 years” in promoting gender equality in society.
Participants from previous editions also attended the event and shared their experiences with this year’s winners. Florencia González, the young woman who accompanied Mayor of Montevideo Carolina Cosse in 2023, pointed out how important it was for her to “see the person behind the job” and learn about “the empathy and good disposition needed to be a good leader”.
Gender and migration
From a multidimension perspective, in line with this year’s slogan of “Inspiring Inclusion”, more women from the interior of the country were encouraged to apply and the Ambassador spent her shared day in Rivera, a border town in northern Uruguay. Together with her companion Mauren Zamora, native of this city, they had a full agenda of activities.
During the day, they were able to learn about the joint work carried out by IOM (International Organisation for Migration), UNICEF, MIDES (Ministry of Social Development) and InMujeres (National Women’s Institute). The agenda included: meetings with the Mayor and with the Binational Commission on Gender-Based Violence (made up of women from the governments of Uruguay and Brazil), a visit to Casa Trampolín (a centre that houses migrant families with child dependants) and an intercultural snack with migrant women entrepreneurs, who shared their projects and experiences in the country.
Leaders and mentees 2024
- Paula Nalerio - Beatriz Argimón, Vice-president of the Republic
- Lucía Álvarez - Francisco Benavides, UNICEF representative in Uruguay
- Mariana Díaz - Mariana Chilibroste, Founder & Co-chair at Sellin
- Sofía Benítez - Carolina Cosse, Major of Montevideo
- Carolina Abreu - Adriana Cuñetti, Director of Regulatory Affairs at AstraZeneca Hub Uruguay
- Magalí García - Silvia Emaldi, president of UTE
- Camila Villagrán - Maria Eugenia Etcheverry, Lieutenant coronel of the Uruguayan Air Force to the President of the Republic
- Agustina Guarisco - Heide Fulton, U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay
- Jazmín Méndez - Magdalena Furtado, UN Women Programme Director in Uruguay
- Sofía Brum - Pablo Mieres, Minister of Labour and Social Security
- Eliana Ruiz - Pilar Moreno, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Sciences at Udelar and researcher at the Pasteur Institute in Montevideo
- Mauren Zamora - Faye O’Connor, UK Ambassador to Uruguay
- Florencia Ramírez - Lucila Pizzarulli, Head of IOM Office in Uruguay
- Luana Amorín - Blanca Rodríguez, journalist at Subrayado (Channel 10) and El Espectador
- Fabiana Ramírez - Pablo Ruiz Hiebra, UN coordinator in Uruguay
- Camila Bone - Diego Sayanes, CEO & Founder of Grupo RUA
- Valentina Perchman - Carmen Sorger, Canadian Ambassador to Uruguay
- Yamila Melgar - Alejo Umpiérrez, Major of Rocha