Connecting, inspiring and empowering women to lead the way

In October 2021, we kicked-off our project Empowering Girls with a first exchange, for which we had the pleasure to welcome #youngtalent Klelia Loka in conversation with WIL Board Member Herke Van Hulst, Partner at Osborne Clarke, as #rolemodel.

Klelia is 17 years old and is from Kruja, Albania. She is currently in her last year of secondary school and aspires to study law or international relations. This conversation with Herke was an opportunity for her to meet a fascinating female leader in her field of interest and learn more about the success and challenges she has had throughout her legal career.

An interesting fact is that when Herke was Klelia’s age she also had an exchange with an lawyer, which inspired her on her current career path! Herke shared this story with Klelia and highlighted the importance for young women to link up with mentors, so that they can learn from different people in different professions and see how they managed their progression.

During their conversation, Herke and Klelia talked about the different paths and professions in the field of law. Herke advised Klelia to never stop learning and developing, and to talk to lots of different people. Most importantly, she advised her to follow her heart, be happy and make time for herself!

Here is what Klelia told us after her exchange with Herke:

“This experience has truly been amazing for me, because I had the opportunity to meet and interview a successful woman who is a role model in the field of law. I got to know more about her views on women empowerment, her challenges and successes, her advice for all women and girls, as well as her balance of work and private life. Since I aspire to be a lawyer myself, it was great to have the opportunity to ask some questions, the answers of which I was really curious to know.

After this interview, I can gladly say that I am even more convinced to follow a similar path for my future career. I thank the WIL Team and Ms. Herke for coming up with this amazing project and giving young girls like me the opportunity to meet such inspiring women and to get motivated to follow the paths to which we aspire.”

Thank you Klelia and Herke for being an inspiration for us and for our project too!