WTM’s Brand Ambassador, Esky Dubois, reflects on an eventful summer which included family travel, an inspiring trip steeped in fashion, the publishing of a book and exciting announcements.
Hello readers, how was your summer?
My most significant highlight of this summer was reuniting with my children, Abel & Lea, in Nantes, France, which I found too hot and humid. It was quite funny to hear from everyone who said: “How do you find France too hot? Didn’t you just come from Bahrain?”
My response was: “In Bahrain, we have something called AC, and it’s literally everywhere”. Nevertheless, the humidity and heat were irrelevant compared to the joy of seeing my children. I am sure many of you who sent your children to university and are suffering from an empty nest can relate and understand my joy in reconnecting easily.
However, my summer travel started a bit earlier in Tuscany, Italy, with a trip as part of a delegation of students led by two instructors from the Royal University for Women (RUW) in Bahrain.
The trip, from June 19-26, aimed to benefit students through a full immersion week of training on how to transform raw materials into exquisite textiles. This initiative was supported by the Embassy of Italy in Bahrain and they arranged a meet and greet at their premises before the departure for the delegation.
Italian Ambassador, HE Andrea Catalano, shared his admiration and acknowledged the enthusiasm of the students and the delegation received a warm welcome on its arrival to Italy by House of Lyria.
One of the objectives of the trip was to collaborate in creating a fabric with the motifs of Bahrain. Highlighting the rich and unique heritage of Bahrain, the students presented the motifs which signified flowers and cashew nuts while describing their historical reference and significance to the Kingdom. The multi-national delegation which included nationals of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopian-French, India, Philippines and Egypt not only represented RUW but the vibrant colours of the community of Bahrain.
One of the greatest things I like about travelling is that inspires me to write. In this year’s case, I was inspired to translate my book. I am happy to share that my previous book (Yeferenji Mist) which was first published in the official language of Ethiopia, Amharic, is now available in English. The book, which is titled White Man’s Wife, will be available at Market Street located in Umm Al Hassam and will soon be available online through Amazon. I’m happy to share that the foreword was written by renowned publisher George Middleton while the book was edited by my colleague and journalist, Kristian Harrison.
Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank all who were involved in our cover shoot including Angelli ‘Dandy’ Salvino-Rodricks who was instrumental in the set up and will be assisting us with our upcoming event.
As much as I enjoyed summer, I was excited to come back to Bahrain and start working on our upcoming project, the 2024 Woman of the Year Awards. This month marks the final stage of revealing the top three nominees across the categories with voting being open to the public from October 1. I invite and encourage you will take part in voting to celebrate women of excellence.
