The Rising Festival 2019 Celebrating International Women's Day

Building on last year’s tremendously successful event, this year’s Festival promises to be even more valuable, with more than 30 speakers sharing their personal stories, tips for success and thoughts on some of the most fundamental issues facing women today.

Taking place on Saturday 9 March 2019, one day after International Women’s Day, this is your opportunity to mark the global annual celebration of womanhood in the company of inspirational women from business, entrepreneurialism, the media and more.

We invite you to take a day to pause, step back and regain some clarity. Join us for an agenda crammed full of interactive workshops and fascinating Open Conversations across four key themes; Inner Leadership and Career Journeys, Your Money Matters, Changing Direction and What’s Next.

We’ll begin the day with mindfulness specialist Dr Helen Zhang. Through a series of simple exercises, Helen will focus our minds on the day ahead, making sure we’re physically and mentally ready to connect with ourselves and each other, and to make the absolute most of the opportunities the Festival presents.

Why attend?

• Network and make new connections
• Pick up life tools and techniques
• Fast track your career and learn how to become the leader you want to be
• Plan for the future and create financial security for you and your family
• Navigate through transitions in life and achieve balance
• Invest in yourself and create meaningful change in your life
• You’ll leave the Festival full of ideas, wiser and with a fresh perspective on how to flourish in the face of the competing demands and pressures of modern life – and hopefully with some new contacts to help you along the way

Festival ticket includes:

Offering as much goodness as we can squeeze in…

• An extraordinary opportunity to meet and talk with professional and engaging women from different backgrounds
• All workshops included  – pick and choose what you want to attend
• Join in the discussion and attend our ‘Open Conversations’
• Access to professional and personal advise – career advisers & various coaches will be dotted onsite throughout the day
• Speed Networking with Purpose – your chance to connect with as many festivalgoers as you can with an emphasis on mutual support and problem-solving
• Mini exhibition
• Delicious lunch vegetarian lunch by Wandering Yak
• Refreshments available throughout the day plus endless supply of fruit kindly provided by Cambridge Fruit Co.
• Gorgeous products and prizes up for grabs
• Happy Hour and networking – join us for a glass of wine, giving you a chance to reflect on the day with others
• Leave the day feeling inspired and supported
• Take home a fabulous goody bag

Workshops:

Female Wellness and Herbs with ‘Hipster Veggie’ Jaspreet Kaur
Personal Branding and Your Future Self with Dr Matt Higgs from KISS Communications
Financial Wellbeing – Demystifying the Fairy Tale of Financial Planning with Claire LaRue from PB Financial Planning
Finding Your Voice with spoken word artist Jaspreet Kaur
Daring to be Me with mindfulness coach Dr Helen Zhang
Empowering Women in the Workplace with Dr Minha Rajput-Ray

Talks:

How Quitting Alcohol Changed my Life by Clare Pooley

Open Conversation Themes:

Inner leadership and career journeys

Leadership isn’t necessarily a position of power in a workplace: it can take the form of providing guidance, strength and direction in any area of life. You can be a leader at home or in your community, as well as in your work. In this session we’ll explore the idea of a leadership mindset – how you can nurture a state of mind that will empower you in every aspect of your life.

Leaders take many forms. This session will help you find out what type you may be, or have the potential to be, supporting you to develop as a leader in a way that remains authentic to yourself.

In recognition of the theme of International Women’s Day 2019 – Balance for Better – we’ll take a close look at the relationship between gender equality and leadership. We’ll break down the impact gender balance – or its absence – can have on women’s career paths.

We’ll also hear about the fascinating career journeys of some highly successful women. Not every great success results from a perfectly executed plan – sometimes serendipity and an openness to new possibilities play a crucial role. Here we’ll discuss some of the interesting turns some of our speakers, and no doubt festivalgoers, have taken to get to where they are today.

The Open Conversation is chaired by Professor Dame Carol Black, with speakers including Dame Mary Archer, Dr Kamel Hothi OBE, and Sharon Allen, CEO of Skills for Care, with more names to be announced shortly.

Your Money Matters

While the last few years have seen much progress towards redressing the gender pay gap, women still frequently get a rough deal when it comes to money matters. Aside from employers paying women less than men for the same jobs, there are many other potential pecuniary pitfalls that can drastically affect women’s wealth.

In this session we’ll lift the lid on some of these issues, beginning with student debt, before looking at missed earnings and pension contributions due to maternity leave and the difficulty returning to full-time or equivalent part-time employment, examining the potential for divorce settlements to disadvantage women and considering the impact of the traditional perception that women are the primary carer for elderly parents.

We’ll also unpick the financial risks involved in breaking away from paid employment and venturing down the path of the entrepreneur. The massive increase in self-employment in the UK reflects the undeniable appeal of being your own boss, but the uncertainties involved mean going it alone can be a daunting prospect – especially if you have a family to support. We’ll cover everything you need to think about if entrepreneurialism or freelancing is something you’re considering.

Speakers in the Open conversation include Jane Portas, Co-founder of Insuring Women’s Futures and Partner at PwC, Claire LaRue, Financial Planner at PB Financial Planning and Dr Helen Zhang and The Cambridge Building Society with others to be announced soon.

Changing Direction

How many of us have dreamed of quitting our job to pursue our dream? Or been faced with lifestyle circumstances that mean carrying on as before simply isn’t possible anymore? Whether through our own volition or life events such as motherhood, redundancy or ill health, sometimes we face big changes – and doing so can be a terrifying experience.

In this session we’ll look at ways to foster a mindset that not only accepts change, but embraces it. Through the accounts of women who have experienced huge lifestyle shifts and never looked back, we’ll help you decide whether such a change could be right for you, identify and cope with the risks involved, and build the courage to take that leap of faith.

This Open conversation is chaired by ‘Geek Whisperer’ Adelina Chalmers, with speakers including Rising Network Founder Lily Cheng, Kath Austin CEO and founder of BeeBee wraps and Co-founder & CEO, Dr Chiraz Ennaceur of CorrosionRADAR.

What’s Next?

Sometimes life throws up a shock or an event that leaves us feeling winded and even questioning our ability to carry on. Traumas such as bereavement, serious ill health – both physical and mental – and relationship breakdowns can present obstacles that feel insurmountable.

Although we can’t escape these moments, we can choose how we respond to them. With the right support and attitude, it is possible to rise again, and even to find a way to channel what might feel like a catastrophic experience into something positive.

In this session we’ll examine how women have found strength in the face of unimaginable difficulties and look at ways you can ensure that, even if you can’t avoid these experiences, you can build resilience and position yourself to get through them.

This Open Conversation features speakers including Anna Harvey, Partner of Price Bailey Legal Services, Entrepreneur, Speaker and Author Loveness Mangezi, Jennifer Mullucks, Home Search Consultant for Garrington Property Finders and the Chief Executive of Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, Dr Lynn Morgan.

Calling all Coaches 

Want to be one of our official coaches on the day and be part of our Speed Networking with Purpose? RSVP and purchase your ticket online to be one of our official coaches on the day! Alongside this session, be ready to have 1-2-1’s with festivalgoers who are seeking professional and personal advise.

• Enterprise and Individual Members – £110 inc. VAT
• Digital / Non-members – £160 inc. VAT

Sponsorship Opportunities

Now in its second year, the Rising Festival is again being sponsored by a selection of generous local businesses. We are grateful to Kiss Communications, Price Bailey Legal Services, PB Financial Planning, The Cambridge Building Society and Factotum Ltd.

Stands and sponsorship opportunities are available providing excellent opportunities to reach engaged potential clients. Get in touch with Lily Cheng for more details: lily@therisingnetwork.com.

What happens after the Festival? 

The Rising Festival is designed to be the first step on a journey of deep and long-lasting change for everyone who attends. It kicks off the Rising Network’s 12-month Programme of Change, an initiative packed with ideas and events designed to nurture your personal and professional growth.

We invite you to see the Festival as just the beginning – a springboard to personal development. Through membership of the Rising Network you can delve deeper into the topics we cover, follow up the workshops, attend networking events, get online support and take advantage of lots of other membership benefits.