Now in its second year the Heidelberg initiative Women in Print attracted more than 400 women to events held in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane in March. This is a 25% increase on last year’s attendance.
Glenn Plummer General Manager Product Management & Marketing, Heidelberg Australia & New Zealand who was instrumental in initiating the project for Heidelberg said the increase in numbers confirmed its worth, and place, in the industry calendar.
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Shelley Gare and Adriana Nuneva |
“This year’s events have borne out our confidence in underwriting this initiative. The increase in attendees and the support of key industry players along with the women involved in organising the events confirms that recognising the contribution women make to our industry is greatly appreciated.”
Plummer extended his thanks to the sponsors of this year’s program. “Bluestar Printing Group and GEON came on board with us as major sponsors this year which was fantastic. Along with the associate sponsorship of Adobe, Fuji Xerox, Print Super, Edwards Dunlop, Fivestar, Heaney’s, GAMAA and Print Industries, as well as many other supporting contributors, we were able to once again present events across five states.”
This year’s guest speaker, journalist and author Shelley Gare, was warmly received by the audience with a number of guests commenting that she was “inspirational and her speech extremely relevant.” Many suggested that the ensuing discussion after the formalities concluded was the most valuable aspect of the evening and Shelley readily participated in these informal conversations.
Adriana Nuneva, senior vice president global marketing for Heidelberg was in Australia at the time and attended the Melbourne and Sydney events as the company’s patron to Women in Print. She was clearly impressed with the activities. “This type of networking event for women provides an opportunity to really get connected, to share experiences and this is something that Heidelberg is very proud to support.”
Plummer concluded saying, “The success of the initiative here is reflected in other regions. Recognition of Women in Print is taking hold around the world with a number of Heidelberg sales and service units fostering similar opportunities for women in their markets. As the momentum builds Heidelberg will use drupa to stage a forum for women of the global print community bringing an international focus to the initiative.”
