The Women & Career Coordination Centre, which is part of the Saarpfalz District Women's Office, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a successful re-launch of the career breakfast. The Saarpfalz district's women's representative, Birgit Rudolf, and her team invited guests to the education centre of the Chamber of Labour and thus handed over the organisation of the breakfast buffet for the first time. "It's also nice just to be able to sit down and be pampered," said Birgit Rudolf, despite the fact that the event required a lot more than just culinary delights. With over 100 women and a few men, including District Administrator Dr Theophil Gallo, the event was very well attended and - to put it bluntly - was once again very well received by the guests.
After a brief welcome by Doris Gaa, Managing Director of the Saarpfalz Economic Development Agency and supporter of the Coordination Centre from the very beginning, everyone helped themselves to the generous breakfast buffet and enjoyed the good company before the second part of the event began with speeches. The first speaker was District Administrator Dr Theophil Gallo, who didn't mind being one of the few roosters in the basket, as he was born with this role by virtue of his surname (Spanish: el gallo - the rooster; gallus in Latin). He immediately surprised everyone by confessing to the women's representative: "I underestimated Mrs Rudolf". And: "If men tend to exaggerate excessively, sell 130 per cent and then only deliver 70 per cent, it's often the other way round with women." The District Administrator praised Rudolf's objectivity and perseverance, with which she also represented her goals to him. Last but not least, the success of the coordination centre, which became a model project in Saarland, contributed to Birgit Rudolf being awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, said the District Administrator. Although this cat has been out of the bag for some time, the applause that followed once again confirmed the reputation of the women's representative in the Saarpfalz district. The District Administrator also struck a more serious note. He expressed his concern about the now alarmingly high and increasing number of pupils who leave school without qualifications, do not learn a trade or do not go to university. As a result, there is little to count on in the labour market - which, as we all know, is urgently needed. "In this context, we cannot afford to do without people who come to Germany and are able and willing to contribute to society. There is an increasing shortage of labour in many sectors, and we need to counteract this trend now."
One such task is carried out by the Women & Career Coordination Centre. State Secretary Bettina Altesleben outlined this "valuable work", in which women seeking advice are supported in their career and life planning through professional skills assessment. Last but not least, she conveyed greetings and congratulations from Dr Magnus Jung, Minister for Labour, Women, Social Affairs and Health.
Despite the more serious tone of the morning, the mood in the room remained cheerful, especially in anticipation of the main act, happiness researcher Maike van den Boom, who also sees imitating the Scandinavian world of work as the way to greater happiness among Germans. In her 45-minute, humorous illustrated talk "No Risk, No Glück" (No Risk, No Happiness), she conveyed a number of moments of happiness paired with inspiring, knowledge-based views to the audience in a lively and light-footed manner.
Finally, in her modest manner, Birgit Rudolf did not fail to thank those who had remained loyal to her and the coordination centre, first and foremost the district administrator and her team.
It was then up to the women's representative to invite everyone to a champagne reception with coffee and cake, where there was plenty of time to chat, network and enjoy the experience without any further effort.
Interesting discussions at the participating information stands of the career-related advice centres, associations and institutions also provided District Administrator Dr Gallo with the first interesting approaches for the district administration.