State Magazine February 2013 : Page 6
Slovakia Promotes Women Entrepreneurs “Entrepreneur” was a dirty word under Central Europe’s Cold War Communist regimes, and entrepreneurs remain scarce in young Slovakia, especially women entrepreneurs. After polling business, government and NGO leaders, the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava realized it could create a multiplier effect by uniting the energetic but scattered Slovak organizations advancing women in business. The resulting 15-month Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum helps women entrepreneurs build networks with one another and better engage the government to garner the support they need. This cross-mission program, which coincides with the 20th anniversary of U.S.-Slovak relations, uses the skills, knowledge and resources of the political-economic, public affairs, manage-ment and consular sections, and of the office of the Foreign Commercial Service and the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. The forum began with a one-day event in October that brought together entrepreneurs, corporate executives and government leaders to talk about challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs. U.S. Ambassador Theodore Sedgwick and Slovak First Lady Silvia Gašparovičová opened the forum, where expert panels discussed topics such as key business building blocks, the strategic use of technology and social media, and financing. Keynote speaker Jennifer Kushell offered insights from her entrepreneurial experience. “You can succeed, but you are responsible for creating your own success,” she said. The political-economic and public affairs sections secured additional funding to support a follow-on mentorship program that brings together corporate leaders and female entrepreneurs to support women in business. The program also funds visits by U.S. experts to share their experiences and mentor rising Slovak entrepreneurs. The first such gathering, in December, focused on the presentation skills needed to pitch a business concept to customers, financiers or public officials. Ceremony Honors Departing Retirees Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Robert D. Hormats saluted the Department’s 2012 crop of departing retirees at a Main State event in December, thanking them for their “essential role in tending and nurturing America’s relationships around the world.” Standing in for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who could not attend this year’s event, Hormats said the ceremony was a bittersweet “opportunity for us to honor and reflect on the distinguished careers of so many of talented and committed State Department officers—both in the Foreign and Civil Service—and to celebrate the opportunities that lie ahead.” He praised employees’ bravery, citing the case of Joel Fischman, a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) in Vietnam in 1968 during the Tet offensive. “He went to bed every night for 18 months with a gun by his side because he never knew who might find their way into his bunk,” but each morning he got up to interact with the Vietnamese people, said Hormats. He also noted employees’ sacrifices in their personal lives, pointing to FSO Sue White, who 20 years ago was sent to Geneva over Thanksgiving weekend to begin a treaty negotiation. Aware that the U.S. delegation was missing Thanksgiving with their families, the local control officer asked a restaurant to cook a Thanksgiving meal for the group, complete with pumpkin and cherry pies, he said. “Little did he know he had just started a new Thanksgiving tradition; State Department that night, Sue ate her first photographer R. Mark pumpkin pie with cherry Stewart, foreground, captures the shot as filling,” he recalled. Under Secretary Hormats Hormats also singled congratulates a departing out Katherine Canavan, for retiree on her service. training such Department Photo by James Pan leaders as the Director General 6 STATE MAGAZINE // FEBRUARY 2013 and Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland; and Richard Pruett, who “was at the forefront of our diplomatic efforts to normalize relations with Vietnam.” Speaking to all of the retiring employees, he said, “The sacrifices you’ve made—long hours, bruised egos and occasionally even actual bruises—have paid dividends—a better State Department, a stronger country and a more prosperous world.” The departing retirees served in Washington and in more than 250 posts abroad, and speak more than 60 languages. Impressively, 59 of them served for more than 40 years. Harold Burman and Sue White each served 50 years.
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