Resilience in adversity was the focus for the day and all speakers did an excellent job in delivering powerful take-home messages encouraging us to embrace change rather than ignore it. Resilience was used as a concept to facilitate this and the day’s speakers equipped us with the tools to build resilience on multiple levels.
These ranged from the individual, with a more holistic approach coming from Heather Wildeman, founder of Saviour Associates, right through to an industry level with Amanda Ball discussing the AHDB Dairy strategy.
There were inspirational buzz words being banded around all over the place, providing food for thought and generating a sense of urgency around the room. ‘Vision, direction and strategy’ were the most notable – and when these were mentioned you could feel the drive for success within the room, as if everyone would be returning home and beginning work on this resilience building straight away.
Although I would question the value of a group catering solely for women, as the key messages of the day were relevant to both male and females, this didn’t detract from the messages that I took from the day. These were a great indicator of the optimism which exists for the dairy industry as it moves forward. Change is inevitable but resilience can be used to harness its potential. I came away from the Women in Dairy conference with a renewed sense of optimism for the dairy industry and a sense that, with the strong females I had come into contact with throughout the day, it is in safe hands.
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