IPAF plans Women in Powered Access breakfast event at APEX
A dedicated breakfast event aimed at providing a networking space for women working across powered access will be hosted by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) during APEX 2023 in Maastricht, Netherlands, as part of IPAF’s ongoing Women in Powered Access initiative.
The Women in Powered Access initiative has been inspired by IPAF’s President Karin Nars, and the special breakfast event will be hosted on Thursday 8-9.30am in the Brasserie Saam restaurant at the MECC, where APEX 2023 will be held.
The event will be free and would-be attendees are asked to register in advance to reserve their place at the informal meeting, which will offer a chance to network with women in the industry over a light breakfast and coffee. Karin Nars will give an overview of the Women in Powered Access initiative and outline the goals and objectives. There will also be another speaker, who is yet to be announced.
So far as part of the initiative, IPAF has showcased the stories of women from a variety of roles across the powered access industry, highlighting the spectrum of opportunities open to women both already working in and considering joining the industry. IPAF has shared the stories it has gathered so far on its website, as well as across both industry and social media channels. In addition, a new equality, diversity and inclusion category has been added to the International Awards for Powered Access (IAPAs) from 2023, and a dedicated LinkedIn group has also been set up for interested parties to join.
Karin Nars says: “Since IPAF launched its Women in Powered Access initiative at Vertikal Days in the UK last May and momentum and interest has steadily built in the months since.
“We have achieved particularly strong engagement through social media channels and we are pleased to say that we now have a steady stream of women working in many diverse roles across a host of different countries being nominated or putting themselves forward as role models to inspire others already in or those considering joining the powered access industry.
“We had a strong selection of entries to the new equality, diversity and inclusion IAPA category this year, and we really look forward to finding who the winner will be from those entries shortlisted at the gala dinner in Berlin, Germany, on 20 April.
“The growing popularity of the recently established Women in Powered Access LinkedIn group, along with an increased focus on finding women speakers for IPAF events including the IPAF Summit, led us to think a physical networking event would prove popular; we think APEX will be the perfect place to host the inaugural meeting.
“We anticipate this will be a popular format so please register your interest in attending without delay. We hope women from all roles and backgrounds will wish to take part and help us to establish a successful template that IPAF can host at other major industry events throughout the annual powered access calendar.”
● Click here to register to attend the IPAF Women in Powered Access networking breakfast event on Thursday 8 June, 8-9.30am local time, during APEX 2023 in Maastricht, Netherlands. For more information about other IPAF events and webinars please see www.ipaf.org/events or visit www.ipaf.org/women-powered-access for more information about the Women in Powered Access initiative and how to get involved.