In the afternoon of Thursday, 27 July, our second keynote speaker, Suba Umathevan, took to the stage. Our Advocacy and Communications Coordinator, Joe Mason, watched the talk and provided the recap below.
Breaking Boundaries, Inspiring Change: My Journey Toward Inclusive Leadership and Gender Equality
On Thursday afternoon, Suba Umathevan, the current CEO of the DROSOS Foundation delivered a captivating keynote speech at the Soroptimist International Dublin Convention 2023. Suba’s talk shed light on her remarkable journey, from leaving Sri Lanka as a refugee in the 1980s, to becoming a champion of women’s rights and a leader within the non-profit sector.
Early in her career, Suba spent time working at the Soroptimist International of Europe Federation (SIE) Head Office in Geneva; in her talk, Suba emphasised the significance of these experiences on her career path and how she found her life course changed as a result. During Suba’s time at the SIE Head Office, whilst working on her Master’s Degree in International Relations and International Law at the Graduate Institute of Geneva, she had the opportunity to meet numerous inspiring women who not only spoke about promoting positive change, but who also took tangible actions to make a difference in the world.
In Suba’s own words, these are women who both ‘live the talk and walk the talk’, speaking prominently on the subject of women and girls’ rights, whilst also taking significant strides toward seeing their goals achieved and recognised on the international stage. Witnessing the impact of grassroots activism and leadership at all levels contributed to the spark of her own passion to dedicate her own energy toward shaping and improving the lives of women and girls worldwide.
Suba also discussed the dual nature of her own identity, as well as how coming to terms with her identity as a refugee living in Switzerland and embracing her cultural heritage within Sri Lanka has shaped her as a leader, allowing her to move forward and mentor people today. Suba’s parents left Sri Lanka when she was two-years-old, when they were refugees fleeing war within the country during the 1980s, before moving to Switzerland, which Suba notes wasn’t very inclusive at the time.
Throughout this time, Suba’s personal journey also involved a number of personal identity crises – although she proudly noted the saree she was wearing during her talk as a signifier of embracing her own cultural heritage, she stressed that this had not always been the case and highlighted the contributions that working for SIE provided to her own sense of self and identity.
Specifically, Suba noted “The impact SI has had on me to encourage me to be myself, I had rare moments before joining SIE to embrace my culture and I remember a lot of the moments of encouragement that have shaped me as a leader and have allowed me to move forward and mentor people today.
“We need more leaders and, standing here today, I am a leader that you created. Today I lead an organisation across more than eight countries, including Switzerland, Germany, the Middle East and north Africa. Working with my teams, one of the things I felt for myself is the kindness, and it is the feminist leadership that we need for the crises that Mary Robinson [Former President of Ireland and SI Dublin 2023 Keynote speaker] talked about. We need that kind of leadership for the future.”
The DROSOS Foundation, of which Suba has been the CEO since November 2020, supports projects that empower young people, as well as promoting their economic independence and creative skills – in particular, ensuring that young people have the opportunity to thrive and develop their own potential.
In pursuing this goal, toward the end of the talk, Suba stressed the importance of productive and positive partnerships at all levels when approaching projects, challenges and interventions. Specifically, ensuring that people who are relevant to the conversations, at the local and grassroots level as much as government and non-profit officials, to most effectively advocate for others; in raising this, Suba praised the actions of Soroptimist International in acting as a voice for the voiceless in projects around the world:
“Looking at the power in this room, there is so much diversity and cultural richness that is brought to the table and multiplied to strengthen institutions and grassroots organisations. A lot of people talk about strengthening governance, whereas others, some examples being from the DROSOS foundation – we don’t just give grants and keep our hands off. We have teams in eight countries that co-create and work with local leaders, we don’t just go through a beneficiaries list.”
You can learn more about Suba Umathevan’s journey as a leader by checking out here recent Tedx Talk, ‘From Refugee to CEO’.