GLOBAL VOICES Sharing voices of women from around the world

In this episode, Sara Crockett has a conversation with Abigail Garcia, DiGEM Project Manager at the Internationalsierungscenter Steiermark (ICS), about the importance of having powerful positive (female) role models in our lives.Abigail and her family came to Graz from Angola when she was 2 years old. She grew up here, went to school here, and proudly received her advanced degree in engineering (Dipl. Ing.) and international industrial management here. In this episode, she shares the challenges she faced, but also the support she received, as a young Black woman in Graz carving out her own career path—despite having few positive, powerful female Black role models. She also talks about her work at ICS as a project manager for DiGEM, a project that helps Styrian companies export to emerging markets.We sincerely thank Abigail for sharing these insights with us, especially in light of the recent Girls' Day events in Graz, which also highlight the importance of positive role models in guiding career choices.

Links: Internationalisierungscenter Steiermark: https://www.ic-steiermark.at/DiGEM Projekt: https://www.ic-steiermark.at/das-ics/service/digem-digital-gateway-emerging-markets/IWA: https://www.iwagraz.org/Would you like to learn more about the IWA? Simply join us at one of our upcoming events to 'check us out': https://www.iwagraz.org/events/

In this Christmas episode we invite you to listen to the conversation with Veronika Neumann, a longtime IWA contributor to the articles on customs and cultures in Austria.  Veronika shares her most vivid Christmas memories from Vienna, St. Pölten, and Graz. Drawing on her background as a teacher, interpreter, and lecturer in cultural anthropology, she opens a window onto Austrian Christmas traditions—from Advent wreath evenings to the *Kindlwiegen* custom - the rocking of a wax figure of the baby Jesus. You’ll hear touching childhood stories of modest gifts, and the magic of feathers, tinsel, and the wonder of the first glittering ornaments.

Go to the link to find out more about Christkindl Church in Steyer, which Veronika tells about in this episode:

https://www.steyr-nationalpark.at/en/oesterreich-poi/detail/401891/christkindl-pilgrimage-church.html

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For more info, visit us at: https://www.iwagraz.org

*IWA Podcast Team - Sara Crockett, Monika Katarzyńska, Expert guidance - Technical Advisor -Danny Hampson.

Designing spaces, redesigning life – this is, in a nutshell, what this inspiring story of the solo travel of one creative and adventurous woman from Palo Alto, California to Graz is about. Listen to our conversation, which is sure to trigger your wanderlust, and find out how Gudrun planned her own sabbatical stay in Austria.

See Graz anew through the eyes of our guest – but be warned: instead of making you want to stay in your comfortable home, this episode might leave you packing your suitcase and getting ready to explore!

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For more inspiration from Gudrun Enger, visit her website, Linkedin and instagram:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/genger/
https://www.studiogudrun.com/
https://www.instagram.com/studiogudrun

https://www.iwagraz.org

*IWA Podcast Team - Sara Crockett, Monika Katarzyńska, Expert guidance - Technical Advisor -Danny Hampson.

Are you looking for an English-speaking book club? Check out this episode to find out more about the Blendend Book Club, based in Graz! It's an excellent group of international women who meet once a month to discuss an interesting selection of books in English.

Go to https://www.iwagraz.org/event/blendend-book-club-in-november/ to find out when the next meeting is.

Take a look at our other book club too - Christine's Book Club https://www.iwagraz.org/event/christines-book-club-in-november/.

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Titles mentioned in the episode:

'Lessons in Chemistry', by Bonnie Garmus

'Anxious People', Frederic Backman

'To Kill A Mocking Bird', Harper Lee

For children: 'A Fish out of Water', Helen Palmer

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Considering becoming an IWA member? Take a look at our website and come along to our next event https://www.iwagraz.org

In this episode we talk what The International Women Association actually is. We are an organisation based in Graz with more than 120 members from around the world. If you're thinking about joining us, listen to this episode to find out what we do, visit our website https://www.iwagraz.org to see what events we have coming up, and simply come along to one of them to meet the IWA!

One of our next events is the Annual English Book Sale, on 11 November at Kaiser Josef Platz 8, 8010 Graz. This time, we're also holding English book readings for children to join in! https://www.iwagraz.org/event/2025-annual-english-book-fair/

All profits from the sale of second-hand English books will be donated to the charity 'Kinder Leben auf Zeit' https://lebenaufzeit.at/wa/

We are looking forward to meeting you!

School shooting at BORG school in Graz on 10 June 2025, bombings in Bali, work in prison and helping refugees – all these events and stories are brought together under the theme of dealing with and healing trauma.

Dr Tina Boyles Bailey helps us to look at traumatic events through her eyes of a Trauma-informed Expressive Arts Therapist with international experience.

Regardless of the scale of the traumatic event, there are universal ways to ease its distressing effects. We hope that this episode helps you to navigate challenging situations, provide you with some tips on how to support children, boost their resilience, and guide you on how to offer and seek help.

Tune in to the first episode of THE NEW SERIES of the International Women Association of Graz's official podcast.

International Women's Day has been celebrated for over a hundred years, but there are still many issues that affect women's progress. We asked women how they celebrated March 8th this year and how we can put into practice the slogan 'ACCELERATE ACTION FOR GENDER EQUALITY', which was the main motto of Women's Month in 2025.

We hope you enjoy our episode. We have put together some useful links to help you get more out of it:

- International Women’s Day website: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/ Information, free resources and events. -The Graz Women's Council: https://www.grazerfrauenrat.at/Independent association in Graz, Austria Council identifies feminist issues in the city, develops goals based on them, and makes recommendations to the city's politics.

- The Migrant Council in Graz: https://www.graz.at/cms/beitrag/10025470/7771507/der_migrantinnenbeirat_der_stadt_graz.html Council aims to ensure the political participation and representation of migrants in Graz, particularly those from non-EU countries. 

- Small businesses and women-owned businesses in Graz mentioned in the episode:

*Limes Café https://www.instagram.com/limes_cafe_graz/*Bohemian Soul Beehive - second hand shop/art/community https://www.instagram.com/bohemiansoul.beehive

*Sestra clothing and accessories https://sestra-store.com/*Casa Selkis shoe store http://jakomini.heinzelmaennchen.at/data/18177/

*Casa Selkis shoe store http://jakomini.heinzelmaennchen.at/data/18177/

In today's episode we talk about one of the most important things in the world - food :)

What kind of food do we enjoy, how do we prepare it, what are our favorite kitchen appliances and much more insights and laughter in our conversation.

What is your favorite food? Do you have your go-to meal or recipe? Don't keep us hanging - let us know in our FB group or at [email protected]

Looking forward to hearing from you!

If you´re living in Graz, you´ve probably heard of base_graz or Sedwell Center. In today´s episode you have the chance to find out more about both! Join us in a conversation with our special guest - the driving force behind the vision  - Debbie Adams, as she answers what's the difference between those two, how it came about, what events and activities are going on and much more. Through this conversation, you also get to know Debbie in a more personal way.

If you liked the episode, share it with others, give us a thumbs up or subscribe to our channel.

You can reach us at: [email protected] or in our FB IWA group (members only).

Find out more about base_graz: 

https://www.base-graz.eu/

https://www.facebook.com/basegraz

https://www.instagram.com/base_graz/

Check out IWA website:

https://www.iwagraz.org/

It's good to be back!

And do we have some news for you! Listen closely because we have a really big announcement to share and can't wait to hear your thoughts about it! :)

In today's episode we reflect shortly on our summers and share updates on IWA events and things going on in Graz in next few weeks.

If you liked this episode, subscribe to our channel and share with your friends.

You can reach us at: [email protected] or in our FB IWA Group (members only)