01.03.05
Objective One Highlights Women

As this year's International Women's Day approaches, on March 8, the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Objective One Partnership is keen to highlight some of the women who are playing a key role in making the Programme a success.

Since the Programme began in September 2000, women involved in many strands of the Programme have become movers and shakers, helping make the region's economy grow.

Top of that list is Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Objective One Partnership for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly since November 2002, and previously Deputy Director since the Programme began.

As director of the Partnership she is charged with steering the directions that Objective One investment should be ploughed into and with helping Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly understand where this investment is going and why.

She said: "Women are not only a great source of talent but are also key customers and clients. This means that there must be women at all levels of the workplace to better understand and respond to increasingly diverse customers and markets. This is how we sharpen our competitive edge."

International Women's Day (IWD) is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women. In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly achievers include Carol Wells and Thelma Sorensen, members of the Objective One Business Task Force which gives the private sector a voice in the investment programme. Ms Wells was recently appointed first female chair of the Cornwall Federation of Small Businesses.

Ms Sorensen is also Chair of the Cornwall Business Partnership, a member of the Objective One Programme Monitoring Committee and chair of the influential Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Economic Forum - the sub-regional partnership of the South West Regional Development Agency and Cornwall County Council. This post has demanded a considerable amount of commitment, leadership and involvement with all the partners towards the delivery of economic regeneration.

Objective One agricultural, horticultural, food and land-based industry adviser Elizabeth Menmuir last year completed a highly regarded course in agricultural management run by the Worshipful Company of Farmers.

"The course is very well respected in our industry and applications are sought both nationally and internationally so I felt very privileged to be offered the opportunity to attend" she said. "The Worshipful Company look for people that they feel can make a difference and to a certain extent lead within the industry to assist it to develop and grow in the future."

Also involved in making food a thriving sector in the region is Catherine Mead of Lynher Dairies and vice chair of Cornwall Agricultural Council. Since expansion of the business into purpose-built premises in 2002, the company has gone from strength to strength. Built with the support of £155,000 investment from Objective One it meant the company could produce an extra 200 tonnes of award-winning cheese per year.

Elizabeth Stevenson is a member of the Programme Monitoring Committee and the Objective One fisheries task force. She runs a successful Newlyn-based business that is helping to buck the depression in one of Cornwall's most traditional industries.

Elsewhere in the region Gaynor Coley is managing director of the Eden project, an eco-friendly visitor attraction known worldwide for its iconic biomes built in a former china clay pit. Objective One investment of £12.9 million will be used to build a new Gateway building, expand the existing visitor centre, create a new vertical transport system down into the Eden 'pit', restructure the car parks to allow easier access, enhance staff facilities and create a new waste recycling compound to help Eden achieve its ambition of becoming waste neutral.

Carleen Kelemen said "Eden has had a profound effect on Cornwall's economy contributing more than £450 million since opening in March 2001. This latest investment from Objective One will further enhance the visitor experience and maintain Eden's prominence as a national attraction. Eden has raised the game in presenting a new and innovative way of developing a visitor attraction and is a key part of our long-term investment strategy in the economic development of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly."

Jane Henderson, until recently the Director of Government Office South West and also former chair of the Programme Monitoring Committee, championed the Combined Universities in Cornwall. The region's first university is expected to boost wealth by making a knowledge-based economy that can compete worldwide in the 21st century.

Deborah Smith is Head of Marketing for Cornwall Enterprise, which promotes economic development in Cornwall, and also of Cornwall Tourist Board. She is only the second woman in Devon and Cornwall to be awarded a fellowship with the Chartered Institute of Marketing and is also working with the Objective One Partnership.

Of her Ms Kelemen said: "To have these sorts of skills and knowledge amongst the Programme's partners is invaluable."

For further information please contact the Objective One Communications Team

Tel: 01872 223439
Email: cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

Editor's notes:

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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