SIVE aims to inspire you through the various activities we are organizing. Some of these activities focus on the story of a particular woman - dealing with questions such as what she has been through, how she has grown as a person, and what her outlook on life is. Each year we present the Brigit Sijmons Awarad to someone as well. We do this on International Women's Day. Take a look below at which activities might inspire you.
Get inspired at events
SIVE organizes various events and activities. The most important event is the yearly celebration of International Women's Day on March 8th. This includes the ceremony for the Brigit Sijmons Award for the most inspiring (local) woman of the year. Another way we love to inspire you is through our 'Inspirational Meet-ups'. At these activities we put the spotlight on a guest speaker who wants to share her story with us. Finally we offer Inspirational Sessions where we share knowledge through workshops, masterclasses and lectures. Each session focuses on a different topic. Ready to get inspired? Use the sign up form below to gain access to your favorite inspirational activity!
Inspirational meet-ups
Once in a while we use our Wednesdays to organize an Inspirational Meet-up.
We invite an inspirational guest speaker who shares her motivations with us, as well as the story of how she's ended up where she is now. These are touching stories which often end up inspiring other women to take charge of their lives and get ahead of the next challenge. It can be a real motivator to go after your own dreams.
When?
We organize our Inspirational Meet-ups on Wednesdays, usually between 13.30 and 14.30. Keep an eye on our upcoming activities for the next Inspirational Meet-Up.
Costs
These activities are free of charge. Free coffee, tea and a bite will be served.
Sign up
To attend an Inspiration Meet-up use the sign-up form below. Please note that most of our Inspirational Meet-ups are Dutch spoken. Reach out to info@sive.nl to check if the one you wish to attend is in Dutch or English.
Information sessions
SIVE organizes regular Inspiration Sessions. The exact set up and topic of these sessions changes every time. Sometimes we offer workshops that challenge you to engage with the topic yourself during the session. Other times an expert provides all their knowledge on a certain topic and allow you to ask them everything you've ever wanted to know about it.
Join us?
Keep an eye on our upcoming activities or sign up for our newsletter to always stay up to date about when the next Inspirational Session is. Costs vary per session depending on top topic, guest speaker, and location. The level of mastery of the Dutch language required to participate also varies per session.
Watch Me Go program
Are you ready for the next step in your life? Do you want to work on yourself and are you looking for a challenge? Then SIVE’s ‘Watch Me Go’ program is for you.
SIVE’s ‘Watch Me Go’ program helps women who want to step up to take a more active role in society. For this we offer specialized training and coaching. This program has been made possible with financial support from the Oranjefonds.
The Watch Me Go program
The Watch Me Go program is meant for women who:
- want to start over but don’t know how;
- want to hone their knowledge and skills;
- have the courage to discover their chances and possibilities;
- want to envision their goals and achieve them.
What you'll learn
The program is focused on self-discovery and empowerment. In this program you will receive assistance with:
- discovering what you want and how to achieve it;
- building a network of people who can support and inspire you;
- discovering your own strengths;
- gaining self-confidence;
- broadening your perspective;
- finding out which possibilities are within your reach;
- taking concrete steps towards employment, volunteer work, an education, or an internship.
Are you a woman looking to take a more active role in society again? Have you become unemployed and do you want help figuring out how to take charge of your life again? Then our Watch Me Go program might be just right for you!
Join us?
The program features sessions spread out over 14 weeks. The participation fee for the total program is €30,-. The Watch Me Go program can start at various points in the year. Please contact us to discuss if it is possible to participate in this program with a limited mastery of the Dutch language. You can reach us through info@sive.nl or 053-4347442. Please contact us if you have any questions. Want to learn Dutch first? Check out our opportunities for this here.
International Women's Day
SIVE celebrates Interantional Women's Day yearly on March the 8th. The celebration focuses on the rights and achievements of women, but also pays attention to neccessary steps that still have to be taken to improve the position of women in society.
Every International Women's Day SIVE offers an inspirational program in Enschede. We will announce the program when the next International Women's Day approaches. Keep an eye on our upcoming activities or sign up for our newsletter to make sure you'll be up to date as soon as you can.
Brigit Sijmons Award
Who is the most inspirational woman of Twente?
Which womand from our local community has inspired you most in the past year? Which woman has made an exceptional contribution to our society? In other words who was the most inspirational woman of Twente? Every year SIVE presents the Brigit Sijmons Award to the most inspirational woman of the year. The ceremony takes place on International Women's Day. Candidates for the award can be nominated in February by reaching out to coordinator@sive.nl. From all the candidates, a jury picks and announces a winnar on March the 8th.
About the Brigit Sijmons Award
Brigit Sijmons was the chairperson of SIVE for many years. She served our organization with great passion, and she managed to connect and inspire many women with her positivity and enthusiasm. After she passed away in 2017, SIVE wanted to honor her spirit by instigating the Brigit Sijmons Award. This award is intended to keep Brigit Sijmons' positive impact alive, by continuing to inspire and motivate local women to go after their dreams. Through this award we do not only hope to express our support and gratitude to women who achieve positive change, but also to place them in a spotlight to inspire other women to see how much they too could achieve. Twente has many inspiration women. With this award we hope to show them all how meaningful their presence is!
Nominations
Anybody can nominate a woman they deem inspiring. This can be done by sending an e-mail to coordinator@sive.nl with the subject 'Brigit Sijmons Award' in the months leading up to International Women's Day. You should include a short motivation that shows us you know the woman we are looking for, using the criteria listed below. Include a copyright free picture of your candidate as well. Finally, you should provide us with the contact information for your candidate.
Candidates will be judged by a jury on the following criteria:
- Being an inspiration or leader to others in Twente: She motivates others to reflect on themselves and take steps to take charge of their own lives. She does this by giving inspirational talks about her life and/or by guiding, coaching or helping other women to take steps in their lives.
- Making valuable contribution to society by helping others: She is employed in a role or volunteers at a place where her or the organization's task is focused on helping others. Or she works to start initiatives and organizations herself that are invaluable in helping others. The woman we are looking for is passionate for her cause, and will go further than most others in her work to help people.
- Knowing how to handle herself.
- Knowing her talents and employing them to get things done.
- Being an example for other women.
- Being a beacon for equal opportunities and working to ensure an inclusive and supportive local society.
- Believing in what she stands for expressing her values openly, for example on social media.
The jury judges all nominations. Those who meet the basic criteria will be contacted to check if they are willing to receive the nomination. Once they have agreed, all nominated candidates will be published online. The jury picks the final winner who will be announced at the ceremony.
Ceremony
The yearly ceremony takes place on the 8th of March when it is International Women's Day. More information will follow when the date approaches. Reach out to info@sive.nl for questions.
Previous winners
The first Brigit Sijmons Award was presented in 2019. The 2021 edition had to be skipped because of the COVID pandemic. All previous winners include:
- Audry Hoemakers (2019)
- Sangita Khadka (2020)
- Quinta Clason (2022)
- Thourya Chaabane (2023)
Our most recent winner
Thouraya Chaabane was the most recent winner of the Brigit Sijmons award. Thouraya is the project leader for 'Tandem' at Humanitas. This is a buddy project focused on helping people who have become socially isolated through a variety of reasons. By providing these people with a buddy the project aims to reconnect them socially, or otherwise prevent further isolation.
Thouraya has worked for Huminatas since 2003. She has also initiated a project for personal guidance to women and girls with a migration background. This project was included under the umbrella of Humanitas Tandem in 2006. Before working at Humanitas Thouraya worked at the city government of Enschede and the central immigration office ('Centraal Orgaan Asielzoekers').
Thouraya was nominated for the Brigit Sijmons Award by Madlin Karademir (volunteer coordinator at Humanitas Samen Actief). Madlin first met Thouraya fourteen years earlier when Thouraya was interning at Humanitas Twente. Madlin described Thouraya as follows: "A strong, motivated, cheery and passionate lady who works from her heart and wants to help others most of all. She is innovative and can think outside the box. She knows how to empower other people! From this basis she has motivated many of our volunteers to develop themselves further and seek out new challenges through volunteer work, training/education or paid employment. She has initiated the project 'Humanitas Samen Actief' as well as many other projects and ideas. She has initiated these things both inside Humanitas Twente as outside. She an active and sporty person. On top of her job she has volunteered for an amazing 13 years at the knowledge platform for intergration and citizenship, taught guest lectures at Saxion Enschede, and actively plays volleyball."