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“Follow your dreams” – SHE in Plovdiv in Mall Markovo Tepe

At the end of April together with Mall Markovo Tepe we organized a special edition of SHE in Plovdiv to celebrate the International Girls in ICT Day. This initiative is established by the International Telecommunication Union in 2011 and aims to encourage women to choose a career in the ICT field. According to data from 2020, women working in the ICT field in Europe are 17%. Bulgaria is a leader with 28.2% women in the sector, followed by Greece (26.5%) and Romania (26.2%). However, the participation declined in all three countries compared to data from 10 years earlier. The lowest participation rates are in the Czech Republic (10.3%), Malta (11%) and Hungary (12.3%).
 

We know that personal stories are much more interesting and inspiring. Thus, we invited three successful women from the ICT field in Plovdiv who told us about their professional paths and shared valuable lessons and advice to the young women willing to develop in that sector. We had the pleasure to talk to Dilyana Totseva, QA manager at MentorMate, Teodora Valchannova, marketing manager at Mexon and Denitza Tchakarova, UX and design lead at Novarto.

Denitza Tchakarova, UX and design lead at Novarto
Dilyana Totseva, QA manager at MentorMate
Teodora Valchanova, marketing manager at Mexon

“This male sector has in no way frustrated me.” shared Dilyana Totseva and added: “If a person is purposeful, they can achieve anything they want. Women are extremely motivated and organized. We often give more interesting and creative ideas compared to our male colleagues in the company. We are the people who often bring part of the change that is necessary to go to the next level.”

Denitza Tchakarova shared her opinion on the importance of following your dreams after you have imagined and described them. She paid attention to some of the lessons she has learned during her work as a UX and design leader. Denitza pointed how essential boundaries are for freedom to exist and the creative part of her job as well as the importance of learning and research for the success of a professional case. A focal point in her presentation was the story about how she managed to overcome her insecurity about communicating concerns she had about the success of their product and how her active stance at that moment brought positive results for the company.

The marketing manager Teodora Valchanova told us her way through this profession and shared that the most important thing for a marketing person is to love equally all brands she is working for. “It is very important that a marketing person adapts her communication in the right way to reach the right people and tell them the right thing.” Teodora underlined how important it is for a person to believe in herself to develop successfully in the field she chooses. She described the various aspects a marketing professional considers when organizing a campaign event – targeting, diversity of activities, safety, attractiveness and an ability to engage people.

Margarita Spasova and Elena Lulcheva from our team
Our engaged audience that made the event wonderful
A discussion during the interactive exercise led by Margarita and Elena from our team

At the end of the event Margarita Spasova and Elena Lulcheva from our team presented “A Guide to Yourself” – a personal development manual created by Ekaterina Karavelova Foundation that helps young girls and women to find their authentic self, assert themselves in interaction with others, clarify their goals and be confident in following them. Margarita and Elena invited the women from the audience to participate in an interactive activity focused on changing our thinking models that sometimes prevent us from achieving our aspirations. The event ended with sharing experience, new acquaintances and good spirits.

We are extremely grateful to Mall Markovo Tepe represented by Ivelina Nacheva for recognizing the cause in support for women as part of their corporate social responsibility. We are glad that the mall is not only a place for commerce, but also a place for events that support the local community.

You can see a video of the event here.

Photos: twodogstwocats.com

A discussion of the limiting beliefs that hinder our development
Ivelina Nacheva, marketing manager at Mall Markovo Tepe
A discussion during the interactive exercise led by Margarita and Elena from our team
Ivelina Nacheva, marketing manager at Mall Markovo Tepe and Marina Kisyova de Geus, executive director at Ekaterina Karavelova Foundation
A discussion in groups during the interactive exercise
Teodora Valchanova, marketing manager at Mexon and Dilyana Totseva, QA manager at MentorMate