Springboard for Women’s Development trainers from all over the world came together at the Springboard International Conference organised in Buck, UK in June 2011. Among those were 17 of the British Council sponsored trainers from the Middle East. Ms Hissa AlSuwaidi - Career Development Supervisor in Qtel, and Ms Wadad El-Husseiny - Director of Student Activities in Qatar University accompanied with Ms Ola Eid – Communication and Media Projects Manager from British Council attended the 2 days conference as certified trainers representing Qatar. The conference is held on an annual basis to support trainers to network, exchange notes, celebrate successes, hear from a top keynote speaker and gain new skills and ideas for the coming year. It kicked off with very interesting sessions and networking opportunities where the Middle East trainers had the chance to network with their counterparts from the UK and share their experiences. The theme this year was 'Feeding the Flame' and the vital fuel to keep our personal flames alive was provided by inspirational and developmental workshops and the fantastic opportunity to network with old and new friends and colleagues. The next day enlightened the power of self development through the key note speaker Michael Heppell, who gave a really upbeat and inspiring speech on How to be Brilliant! He has been described as ‘the cure to an average life’, ‘one of the top three speakers in the world’ and his style ‘like shot-gunning a bucket of espresso!’ he has managed through his presentation to encourage each and everyone to set brilliance as their benchmark, and to take massive action in order to make a change. The feedback from participants was really enthusiastic; many said that it was the best Springboard Consultancy conference so far! At the end of the conference, the trainers attended few practical workshops with a wide range of topics that aim to develop the trainers’ skills to keep improving the delivery of top quality programmes. The workshops added to the knowledge of the trainers and opened the opportunity for networking, learning, and exchanging experience and skills. Ms Wadad El-Husseiny Springboard trainer said: “It was an overwhelming experience to meet all those trainers from various corners of the world. It was a brilliant experience, we shared our faith in Springboard, and the dedication for continuous development I returned with a commitment to myself that challenges is inexistent”. Ms Hissa Al-Suwaidi added: “ The conference was very professional, and not only met by exceeded all my expectations, the amount and quality of information that I gained will irrefutably support and enhance us to deliver the program effectively in Qatar”