GWPN USA Hosts 'Life and Business with Audra Hajj and Aimmee Kodachian'

Written by Natascha Phillips

The Global Women’s Peace Network (GWPN), a project of WFWP, was created with the intention of providing a platform for women leaders and organizations to bring in their collective expertise and skills and apply them to tackling some of the world’s most pressing social issues. With a focus on the three key elements of women’s leadership, family and the environment, GWPN aims to build lasting peace by promoting a new culture based on the feminine aspect of human nature, where we connect in heart with compassion, honesty, and kindness.

 With quarantine restrictions still largely in place across the United States, WFWP USA decided to host a GWPN three-month speaking series on Facebook Live entitled “Reflect, Reset, Rebuild,” to provide inspiration, hope, and tools to assist in coping with the many changes that are affecting us all. The first session was held on May 27th, 2020, on the theme of “Life and Business” and featured two prominent women business leaders, Audra Hajj and Aimmee Kodachian.

The speakers, who have both been featured as GWPN panelists in previous conferences, offered spirited words and practical tools which sparked great interest among participants, who had the opportunity to make live comments and ask questions as the session progressed. The video soon attracted close to 2000 views on Facebook.

Angelika Selle, President of WFWP USA, hosted the interactive session and introduced the “Reflect, Reset, Rebuild” series: “For the next three months, the Global Women’s Peace Network will be diving into topics related to our current crisis and provide fresh insights, wisdom and tools from expert women leaders to empower you and us for what is to come.”

President Selle then spoke on the vision of the GWPN, which was launched prominently in 2019 in five regions of the US. The women we work with, she explained, are “not only professionals and experts in their fields, but also women of spirit, of heart, of passion, and of wisdom that has not been found in books - only in the heart of people.” 

Audra Hajj, the CEO of Phoenix Business Cycle and a marketing and business expert, addressed the specific challenges that business owners and employees are facing at this time. Being able to adapt and change is a crucial skill, as Audra knows all too well through her childhood experience of going through 32 foster homes. She began her presentation, entitled “A Woman’s Survival Kit for Home and Business during Economic Crisis”, by sharing vulnerably and openly about her experiences: “I really tried to be the perfect child [...] but it resulted in just being invisible. Nobody saw me, nobody heard me, nobody acknowledged or even wanted to love me. And I feel part of that journey of my past is so relevant to where we are today because so many of us in this Covid world right now […] are internally cocooned and might be feeling very invisible.” What we can control is how we choose to move forward during this time of uncertainty.

Addressing the challenge of keeping an engaged workforce in a disengaged society, Audra presented a framework for engagement with emotional, functional and relational expectations. She emphasized the importance of meeting the fundamental needs of employees, which includes eliminating unnecessary stress and challenging them in new ways to grow. She ended with these inspiring words: “Now is the time [...] to get back to the heart of why we do what we do, and as women, we do a whole lot!”

The next speaker was Aimmee Kodachian, creator, host and producer of the Empowering Humanity TV show in Las Vegas, who gave a message entitled “The Blueprint for Women to Rebuild a Thriving Life After a Catastrophe.” Having lived through devastating personal loss and hardship during the Lebanese civil war and experiencing rejection wherever she went, Aimmee persevered despite all the odds. 

 “You are a gift to the world,” Aimmee said to all the women listening in. “With everything I’ve been through, I still found my way up just because I started to believe, no matter what anyone told me. And I know that you can make it too. You just have to believe that you are a gift to the world.” This is the first step to build a thriving life, according to Aimmee. She then spoke of how we could activate our unique power and use it for good.

After these powerful and inspirational words, the speakers had the opportunity to respond to some of the questions and comments that the live audience had been sending in. Audra also shared her beautiful Survival Kit for Women which allows people to see everyday items in a new light (see image on the right).

Participants expressed their deep gratitude to the speakers for sharing their wisdom, and how they are looking forward to the continuation of this series. The next session will be held on July 1, 2020 focusing on the topic: Crisis and Education, with Dr. Susan Taffer, who was the keynote speaker at the West Coast GWPN launch in Los Angeles. The third edition will deal with the spiritual and cultural environment, which has been deeply affected by Covid-19 and is changing as we speak.