A few days before the 3rd edition of the EVE Asia Pacific seminar, we met with Anne Thévenet-Abitbol, Director of Foresight and New Concepts at Danone, Editorial and Artistic Director of the EVE Program.

Eve the blog: Why did you launch EVE Asia Pacific ?

Anne Thévenet-Abitbol: The EVE Programme takes place every year in Evian and has been an undeniable success.

It was L'Oréal that, in 2013, asked us to organize a local edition, on the scale of Asia, and it was a first source of satisfaction to see that EVE belongs to all companies, and that each of them can propose an initiative to make the Program profitable.

Danone, then Crédit Agricole and Essilor enthusiastically embraced the idea because our companies regularly experience the war for talent in Asia. This year Société Générale, Thales and Kerring are also joining us for this next edition.

The second area of satisfaction was to confirm that EVE's theme: "dare to be yourself and unleash your potential " is completely universal.

Eve the blog: How does EVE's magic formula work internationally?

Anne Thévenet-Abitbol: The magic formula, as you say, is based on two beliefs that are even certainties. The first is that we women are jointly responsible for the glass ceiling, and therefore we hold part of the solution. The second certainty is that we must all come together to succeed : women and men, companies, and various levels within each company.

Thus, our whole ambition is to make women gain confidence and to make organizations — and therefore most often men — aware of the difficulties and differences in women's functioning. And to achieve this goal, we mix plenary sessions and workshops to both refocus and grow each participant.

It's a cross-company program and we ask each of them to send 80% women and 20% men (the inverse proportions of what is usually found in management committees), a third young talents, a third directors and a third general managers.

It is all this alchemy that generates real transformations in the participants, realigns them with their life momentum – as Thomas d'Ansembourg, one of our speakers, would say – and allows them to become actors of change. And all of these principles are applied and work for EVE International as well as for EVE Asia.

Whatever the country, whatever the culture, there is a universal truth that we have adopted : if you want to change things, you must first change yourself. As Marguerite Yourcenar wrote: " We would all be transformed if we had the courage to be what we are." 

Eve the blog: After EVE Asia, other areas of internationalization ?

Anne Thévenet-Abitbol: Little by little, other people are asking us to develop local editions such as EVE Americas and EVE Africa. As I said above, the EVE Program is based on totally universal principles and content, so developing local editions is above all to allow populations who would not come to Evian to benefit from the EVE effect in their region.

There are many events around the world that focus on women and female leadership, but the EVE Program has its place as a changemaker. What is absolutely crazy and continues to amaze us is how after only three days, the participants leave feeling like they are more the actors of their own lives and by daring to ask for things, change situations, turn brakes into drivers...