‘‘If you want to win, forget about competition”– Teamwork, dedication and resolution.
Across geopolitics and international relations with Chiara Palieri
Chiara is a young yet mastered Conference Director across the MENA region.
By expressing a concept she makes a sharp statement going straight to the point: clear ideas and forward-looking mentality since a very young age, she dedicated her life to activism and public speaking, also winning an award with a dissertation on the bilateral relations between USA and Qatar before moving to the UAE.
Key elements of her interview are passion for human relations and the commitment to creating something that goes beyond physical people gathering, picturing a more comprehensive scenario with individuals engagement.
‘’Successful people aren’t necessarily people with a great career’’ Chiara’s affirmation is so true and yet so distant from the social model we have been taught over time within corporate environments.
For Chiara, fiercely believing in yourself, your talent and core values is the perfect blend for a successful life. However, if your ambition is to develop your skills and build a career in international relations or in any other corporate environment, Teamwork will play an essential role: build your crew, grow with them and work towards a common objective.
While doing that, don’t forget to nurture your dreams: as Chiara’s immovable trademark recites ‘’dreams are the only thing worth taking seriously in life’’ dare to dream and learn how to do it properly following inspiring examples of determination and integrity. Because ‘’featuring stories can touch and change people’s life- if my story can serve the purpose of inspiring young people, then I feel my profession in not wasted’’.
Who are you today?
I am a change maker, relationship broker and strategy advisor. I am a person fuelled by passion and a deep desire to serve her country of origin and her country of residence. I am a Senior Conference Director for ministerial events across the MENA region.
How did you get here?
I don’t think passionate people get to places. We go places, we consciously take leaps of faith and constantly live out of our comfort zone. I was lucky enough to find out early in life what my real passion was, which was-is-and-always will be international relations and geopolitics. Having read International Politics at the University of Stirling, after 10 years of high-level activism and conference speaking and after an award winning dissertation on the US-Qatar bilateral relations post 9/11, I decided to move to Dubai to pursue my passion for government relations. It took a lot of courage, resiliency and passion and it still does today.
How would you describe your profession with 3 adjectives?
Enthralling, strategic and demanding.
My profession is enthralling as it offers an unparalleled journey which is shaped by the way we experience human relations before international relations. It involves working closely with global and regional government authorities, private sector entities, SMEs and start ups and ultimately offers an outstanding exposure to many domains such as geopolitics, business, technology, construction, education to name only a few.
It involves a deep understanding of strategy, as with governmental and commercial events we must strategically identify how to broker relationships, connecting supply with demand and connecting different job roles together to tackle a certain issue. In a personal capacity, I do my best to master also the art of creating something deeper than just a conference, keeping key debates alive and always thinking about the big picture – which could involve creating policy provisions as well as year long think-tanks involving all key stakeholders.
It is definitely a demanding career which requires extensive travel, unlimited passion as there are long hours in office and on site as well as many lenghty meetings with different stakeholders. As human beings, we also need to emphatically understand different personality types and visions – harmonizing that all is an art in itself and requires a lot of resiliency and a certain predisposition to relationship building.
How did you face and eventually overcome the toughest moment?
My journey has been full of key moments: the highs were really high and the lows were very low. Moving to this region hasn’t been the easiest thing to do at 24 years old, I have dealt with a lot of obstacles (I sued someone for work in a court in Dubai, defended myself in different hearings and won the whole case without legal assistance, just to name one).
I have always deeply believed in my values, my talent and my courage. That combination has made me and still makes me invincible, like a bamboo I bend but never break. I believe successful people aren’t necessarily people with a great career, but people with an unshakable self-belief and self-confidence.
Being fearless doesn’t mean lack of fear towards the whole situation, it means not having fear about our own attitude to problem solving: “I got this” comes from within and when you decide nothing or no one will come between you and your career, you have nothing to fear. Adversities are way to test how hard you want something and the bigger your ambitions, the bigger will be the obstacles. But I do assure everyone reading this article that the pain is worth it and it allows you to look at the world with gratitude and a kinder heart.
What’s the very best advice you would give to someone pursuing a working path like yours?
Working in governmental events is not an easy journey: you must truly be passionate about decision-making processes and power balances. Politics is everywhere, even in Kingdoms: it is not party politics, but it still widely rules the way society works.
My advice is to study foundations of International Relations: this will truly make you stand out in the industry, because you will always be able to anticipate geopolitical dynamics in such a fast paced geopolitical landscape. Study history not only from formal resources, but from people themselves.
If you want to win, forget about competition. The only person you should compete with is your old self. If you want to win, find your tribe and win together. Nobody can do it by themselves and the conferencing industry teaches this very well: teamwork is at the core of our operations!
What is your destination?
My vision for the next 10 years is to become a decision maker within the government. I am getting closer to make my dream come true and I am thrilled at the idea of serving this country. Stay tuned!
How do you think be influenced can be helpful to young ambitious people?
When I was young and still today, it’s been my unshakable belief that dreams are the only thing worth taking seriously in life. That has been my lifelong trademark. And that is because dreams are nurtured by love, which is the propelling force behind success – can you think of a single successful person who doesn’t deeply and courageously love what they do? Personally, I don’t. Only when you love your life and nurture your dreams you can truly thrive and that is because only love gives that strength to overcome crossroads, failures and doubt.
Up until the age of 18, I lacked role models and inspiring stories. That was a curse and a blessing, because it helped my larger than life ambitions and imagination to thrive. Be Influenced is a key initiative which offers young ambitious people exposure to real life stories of passionate professionals who are confidently pursuing their dreams. Featuring stories can touch and change people’s lives, especially young people. If my story can serve the purpose of inspiring someone, then I feel my professional is not wasted.
