'International Women Leaders Forum 2017' – Connecting domestic and international business communities

PV: Hello Runner-up Nguyen Thu Huong, as the head of the organizing committee of the 2017 International Women Leaders Forum, can you share with everyone what is different and special about this year's program compared to previous years?

Every year on March 8, the International Network of Women Leaders always organizes a Forum for women leaders to share and provide more knowledge and experience in work and life.

The 2017 Women Leaders Forum takes the theme “Leadership without borders” with the aim of giving Vietnamese female leaders the opportunity to listen to the sharing of methods and stories from female leaders from many different countries. From there, Vietnamese female leaders can visualize how to develop in many different countries and become leaders not limited by culture or geographical area. We have seen many foreign female leaders come to Vietnam to work very effectively. However, not many Vietnamese female leaders can confidently develop their businesses abroad. So how can Vietnamese female leaders overcome those barriers? That is the meaning that the theme “Leadership without borders” will bring at this discussion.

PV: As you just shared, this year's theme of the Forum is "Leadership without Borders". So can you share a little bit of your views on this year's theme? Why did you choose this theme?

As someone who has worked in the communications field for 20 years, having worked with many leaders from many different countries, I have found that in any environment, any organization, we all have a common concept, a common definition of leadership. That is, a leader must have a vision, a heart and a mission to contribute to society. With that perspective, they can adapt to any environment they come to.

I have worked with leaders from different countries, their first point of view is how to understand the culture and they think about how to contribute to the community where they work. From there, gradually improve and integrate into that environment. Therefore, I have drawn a practical experience for myself. That is, we should not limit ourselves to a fixed market or a safe zone and think that we can only develop in that environment. I think that the world is getting flatter, information technology is developing more and more, trade opportunities between countries are expanding more and more. Therefore, we should expand our own safe zone, expand our market, join hands with many partners in many different countries, ... to grasp more new development opportunities.

PV: The highlight of the International Women Leaders Forum is the Night to honor the Top 50 outstanding global women leaders. So what criteria does a female leader have to be worthy of being honored, madam?

Women Leaders is an international network of women leaders and every year there is a program to honor dynamic, committed and contributing women leaders to the community, supporting the development of the next generation. We are looking for women leaders who are members of the Network or women leaders nominated by the Network. They are people who have contributed a lot and have a certain influence, bringing inspiration to other women. Therefore, this year's forum will be a place to honor those women leaders with typical contributions.

PV: Recently, you successfully organized the Top 100 Business Style program in February 2017. Everyone saw you appear as the Head of the Organizing Committee of the International Women Leaders Forum. It can be said that your energy source has never been exhausted. Can you share with everyone how you always maintain this source of energy and enthusiasm for work?

Over the years, as the Head of the Organizing Committee of two major programs, Top 100 Business Style and the International Women Leaders Forum, I have also been like a bridge connecting successful people to build a better and better community of male and female entrepreneurs. The energy I have comes from the people around me, the customers and partners I meet. The activities of Top 100 Business Style have been very successful, bringing many opportunities to the guests attending the program. I hope that the International Women Leaders Forum is also an activity that helps us women to be more confident because we have a separate Forum to share the issues they care about such as: how to make society better and better, how to help women develop more and help the next generation have a better environment, ... The issues that women care about are always detailed and subtle but are the necessary foundations for sustainable development and social balance. Therefore, I want to maintain both the activities of Top 100 Business Style and the International Women Leaders Forum to balance the activities of the male business community and the female leadership network.

PV: You once shared with the press that family is your joy and motivation. However, you are currently very busy with a series of new projects and programs. So can you share how much time you spend with your family and how a modern female leader like you balances work and family?

I think that family, work, career and social activities are beautiful colors of the picture called life. As a modern woman, I do not want to live in a biased area. To diversify my life picture, I try to balance and arrange it scientifically. My children are familiar with their parents' activities. We always have principles of communication with each other so that when I have to go on a business trip away from home, the children still feel that their parents are monitoring and being with their activities. I think that applying scientific management principles to family management will help us easily do many things at the same time without feeling overlapped or overwhelmed.

Thank you for sharing, Runner-up Thu Huong, and wish the 2017 International Women Leaders Forum great success!

The Thanh