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On Thursday 4th October, Canning House and the Anglo-Argentine Society held the first event in the Woman on a Mission series: The Entrepreneur. The audience heard from three inspirational female entrepreneurs: Liz Merchant, Silvia Demetilla and Dr Celia Szusterman.
On Thursday 4th October, Canning House and the Anglo-Argentine Society held the first event in the Woman on a Mission series: The Entrepreneur. The audience heard from three inspirational female entrepreneurs: Liz Merchant, Silvia Demetilla and Dr Celia Szusterman.
From left: Ofelia Bourdette, Liz Merchant, Cristina Cortes, Julie Whitworth, Silvia Demetilla and Dr Celia Szusterman
Liz Merchant, Director of Succeed in Languages, spoke about her move from Argentina and successfully becoming a teacher and opening her own language school in Argentina. She travelled back and forth between Argentina and the UK until she finally settled permanently in the UK. She is now Executive Director of the British Argentine Chamber of Commerce (BACC).
Silvia Demetilla, Founder and Director of La Tundra Revista, spoke about her arrival in London in 2001. Not knowing many people who shared her interests and spoke Spanish, she decided to create a website, and later a magazine: La Tundra. She explained that a tundra is one of the most difficult ecosystems for a human to survive in. It’s been seven years since the magazine started and it continues to grow in size, working with people from around the world.
Dr Celia Szusterman, Director of the Latin America Programme at the Institute for Statecraft, talked about the events happening in Argentina in the mid-50s which marked her upbringing. Her family had migrated from Poland and her mother had always encouraged her to be independent. In the 70s she became an English teacher. However, her experience of misogyny in the workplace led her to move to the UK. She was inspired by the woman who ran ProMujer, an organisation based in the US which empowers women in Latin America. In 2011 she joined the Institute for Statecraft and developed a Latin American programme. Dr Szusterman stressed the importance of building alliances in order to achieve one’s goals.
Cristina Cortes then opened the floor to questions, which led to further informal conversations over Argentine wine and empanadas.
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