Panel talk Women's Day

With over twenty years’ experience in the media, Hakima Darhmouch has worked as a journalist, a news presenter, and deputy editor-in-chief at RTL, and as head of the Culture department at RTBF, before joining Akkanto as a reputation management consultant. She's now Head of the Master’s Program in Journalism at l'IHECS and sits on several boards of directors active in the fields of culture, governance and knowledge transfer.

It took 42.54 seconds for Elodie Ouedraogo and Olivia Borlee to race to Olympic silver in the 4x100m at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. A subsequent doping ban turned that silver into gold eight years later, underscoring the quartet’s status as national heroines. As their careers as athletes wound down, the two turned the number representing that winning performance into “42/54”, a clothing brand that embodies style, functionality and sustainable design. After five years of success, “42/54” became UNRUN, an activewear venture with the potential to become the duo’s second gold medal-winning performance.

Isabelle Arpin is a chef with a singular and unconventional path. A graduate in economics, she discovered cooking later in life—a revelation that became a vocation. Curious, cultured, and free-spirited, she learned from the best while following her own rhythm. That freedom has since defined her career and culinary signature. Twice awarded Michelin stars (2017, 2019), Arpin gained acclaim in Belgium and abroad, yet she remains independent and deeply committed to solidarity. During the pandemic, she devoted herself to supporting healthcare workers, the homeless, and numerous social causes. In 2023, she moved her practice to the Château de Leignon, where she is creating a space rooted in sustainability and aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. An advocate of responsible fishing and ambassador for the UN’s Zero Waste Day in Brussels, she also advises FoodTech start-ups on plant-based innovation and sustainable agriculture.