Riveting discussions unfolded over skewers of glazed tofu and tender braised beef slices last Friday, May 10, at the Women’s Leadership Network lunch. The Multipurpose Room at Downtown Campus was abundant with promise, and the lunch served as a celebration with a two-fold purpose: to commemorate the SIG’s inaugural year of operation and to recognize the achievements of select female leaders at NYUAD.

President and sophomore Olivia Bergen, one of the six founding members of the SIG, proposed the initiative after attending the “Women as Global Leaders” conference at Zayed University last academic year. The group wanted to form a platform for discussion about women’s issues and promote opportunities for empowerment within the community.

According to Bergen, the group’s most powerful event was the “Feminism is Important” photo essay introduced by sophomore Caroline Gobena, one of the SIG’s founding members.

“[The project] meant a lot to me because it included so many voices in our community,” said Bergen.

The NYU Abu Dhabi community reflected on how feminism is important to their lives on a small whiteboard taken around campus. This project sparked widespread discourse on issues pertinent to women beyond the confines of Sama Tower’s blue-hued glass windows, as discussion was rampant across the Global Network University. Bergen added that their event, “Letters to Women Who Inspire You,” where the group provided stationery and postage for people who wanted to write to inspirational women in their lives, was also successful.

This past month, the Women’s Leadership Network opened nominations for outstanding female leaders among the students, staff and faculty in the community.

“Among the nominees, we have SIG and Student Government leaders, resident assistants, and faculty and staff who lead departments or go above and beyond to serve the school,” Bergen said.

Hazel Raja, the director of NYUAD’s Career Development Center, professor Deborah Williams and students Zahida Rahemtulla and Clara Bicalho Maia Correia, were among about 20 attendees.

The munching of basmati rice peppered with yellow corn and conversations about summer plans was interjected by a musical interlude. Professor and flutist Celina Charlier, Musician in Residence Marcio Miele, and Farah Chamma, a second-year student at Paris-Sorbonne University, performed two pieces from the NYUAD Institute’s event, “An Evening of Song and Poetry.” The upbeat romantic tones of the Brazilian bossa nova style contrasted with Chamma’s original poem on gender violence, recited in three languages.

As the music and poetry came to a halt, so did the lunch. Freshman Angelina Micha-Djaja said that the lunch was a great way to celebrate the achievements that women leaders have accomplished throughout the year.

“It was nice to have a chance to take a break and reflect on everything we've worked on, the lessons we've learned, and goals we may want to set in the coming year,” Micha-Djaja said.