A total of nine ambassadors once again showed their graciousness to the community of Ottawa when they took part in the International Women’s Forum’s annual general meeting and behind-the-scenes experience in Ottawa.
Maureen Boyd, one of the organizers of the IWF event, approached a number of ambassadors to see if they would host dinners for the 80 participants. Those who got on board to host dinners in their own residences included the European Union, Israel, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Thailand and Kazakhstan. In addition, the ambassadors of Japan and Switzerland attended a dinner hosted at Boyd’s home (her co-hosting husband, Colin Robertson, is a retired Canadian diplomat.)
The dinners were well-received by the women, who enjoyed meeting foreign dignitaries and learning about their jobs and their countries. The women who went to the home of Kazakh Ambassador Konstantin Zhigalov were taken with the wide range of information their hosts imparted about a country they’d known so little about before.
“One of the objectives of diplomatic work is to learn more about the people of the country you are posted in, including those who had achieved a lot in their lives, like the Canadian members of the International Women’s Forum,” Zhigalov said. “It was a pleasure to host several members of this organization, including national president Stella Thompson, to get a deeper understanding of what it takes to succeed in Canada, and also to inform [the women] about Kazakhstan and the strong role of women in our society. I hope that with the positive feedback we received after our embassy’s event, we will remain in touch with the IWF members.”
The Mexican ambassador was equally pleased to host.
“It was a great event. I met some very important female Canadian leaders from all walks of life,” Francisco Suarez said. “We had the chance to give them a good taste of Mexican cuisine, which is now in fashion, and also margaritas and Mexican wines.”
Suarez said the first non-U.S. and non-Canadian president of this international organization was Mexican — Luz Lajous — and many IWF members knew her.
“I received tonnes of nice notes and feedback from the IWF women who attended the dinners and nice feedback from the ambassadors, as well,” Boyd said. “The Mexican ambassador sent me a note thanking me for sending such an interesting group of women. And Marianne Coninsx of the EU told me to call anytime I needed hosting for this group.”
Boyd said the idea was to give the women an insiders’ look at the city, and including the diplomats was a nice way to do that. They also met with Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella and Senator Nancy Ruth, visited and toured Rideau Hall and had dinner at the new Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health.
