• The European commissioner was the second guest within young.LEADERS.talk series

”I am proud of the trainees I have had – both during my time in the European parliament and now as European commissioner. All of them afterwards succeeded in their professional development”. This stated the European commissioner for digital economy and digital society Mariya Gabriel during a meeting with interns from member companies of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria. This was the second meeting of  young.LEADERS.talk series within the Council’s National Internship Initiative. The purpose of the events is to enable the interns to meet their role models – from political leaders and top managers of leading companies to young professionals and entrepreneurs – and draw lessons from their personal stories. The meeting with Mariya Gabriel was held in House of Sofia art space.

For over an hour and a half Mariya Gabriel discussed with the young people and answered their questions about her path to European politics and her activities in the European commission. “Hard work and persistence are the most important things if you want to achieve your goals. The character shows best during hard times”, said the Commissioner. She spoke about the challenges she faced as a student at the prestigious Sciences Po university  and afterwards when she became the first foreign professor at the same university.

The fact that foreign students have had limited opportunities for internship motivated Mariya Gabriel to provide such a chance to as many young people as possible during her time in the European parliament. “Internship is a period when you not only take the road from university to the labor market but when you can develop your own ideas. Working in the European institutions, participating in the European policies enable you to give shape to your ideas and to make them visible and beneficial for the European citizens”, stated Mariya Gabriel. She encouraged interns to approach her if they have an idea or just want to share their thoughts with her.

The European commissioner shared with the trainees some of the topics she is working on and the related challenges.

“The trainees attending this event come from different companies but nowadays, every kind of business has something to do with the digitalization”, said the Chairwoman of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria and CEO of Siemens Bulgaria Dr. Eng. Boriana Manolova. She added that the digitalization is a big topic for the Bulgarian business and reminded of the Global Women’s Leaders Forum, organized by the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria under the motto “Inspiring digital leaders of the future” earlier this year.

“We are talking about The fourth industrial revolution but actually we are witnessing an evolution. My position is clear – robots and machines will not replace humans. The core of my work is that the human beings will remain in control of the machines, but this transformation requires digital skills. 163 millions Europeans have no basic digital skills and that’s why it is among my priorities”, said Mariya Gabriel.

She presented the Digital opportunity traineeship initiative which provides cross-border traineeships paid by the European Commission. Not only IT specialists but also young people studying other specialties can apply for it. Mariya Gabriel urged the young people to be active and to participate in all activities within the European code week which will take place in October. Its aim is to include 50% of all schools in EU by 2020. Mariya Gabriel stated that in the previous edition of the initiative in 2017 46% of all participants were girls. The Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria is a big inspiration for young girls and women to follow their dreams and be successful entrepreneurs, she added.

Mariya Gabriel gave more details about her initiative called Women in Digital which is focused on three areas – challenging stereotypes; promoting digital skills and education; advocating for more women entrepreneurs.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria has been organizing the National Internship Initiative “Stay in Bulgaria”. The program is oriented towards the youngest professionals and will enable them once again to prove their qualities and skills, to get involved into the real business and to find opportunities for development along with suitable environment and a stimulus for their professional realization in Bulgaria.

The initiative is under the patronage of Mrs. Eva Maydell, MEP.

In 2018 the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria launched its Young.LEADERS.talk series which takes place within the Council’s National Internship Initiative. Its purpose is to enable young people to meet their role models – political leaders, managers and young professionals who started their own careers as interns, as well as to visit some of the largest companies in Bulgaria.  In this way young people have the opportunity to get familiar with the business world and to learn how companies are organized and how they operate.