14 Sep Parea: The Greek Art of Coming Together, and the Heart of Women with Flavour
There are some words that seem to find you at exactly the right time.
For me, one of those words was Parea.
When I first heard it and discovered its meaning, I had one of those moments when you think, That’s it. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to describe.
It gave me a word for something I had already been building.
What does Parea mean?
Parea (παρέα) is a beautiful Greek word used to describe a group of people coming together to enjoy each other’s company.
But its meaning goes much deeper than simply being in the same room.
Parea is about connection, conversation, friendship, laughter, sharing food, exchanging stories and enjoying the simple pleasure of being together.
It is about belonging.
It is about putting down the phone, looking across the table and actually talking to the person sitting opposite you.
It is about those conversations that start with one question and somehow end up somewhere completely unexpected.
And sometimes, it is about arriving knowing very few people and leaving feeling that you have found your people.
That is Women with Flavour
When I created Women with Flavour, I knew I didn’t want to create just another women’s event.
It actually began very simply — six women around a table.
Food, conversation and connection.
I described it as dinner with intention because I wanted there to be something more than simply eating together.
At each dinner, I introduced a question for us to talk about.
Not networking questions.
Not, “What do you do?” followed by an exchange of business cards.
Questions that encouraged us to talk, listen, share and discover more about each other.
And something happens when women are given the space to do that.
The titles disappear.
The job descriptions become less important.
We begin to meet the woman behind the business, the career, the family, the responsibilities and the roles she plays every day.
That is where genuine connection begins.
Then I discovered Parea
When I was introduced to the word Parea, it immediately resonated with me.
It gave me a word for something I had already been building.
Women with Flavour had always been about bringing women around a table.
Parea helped me understand the deeper meaning behind it.
It wasn’t about filling seats.
It was about creating a space where women could feel welcome, have meaningful conversations, laugh, share stories, make connections and simply enjoy being together.
And that is how Women with Flavour: The Parea Gathering was born.
More than networking
There will undoubtedly be business connections made at a Parea Gathering.
There may be collaborations.
Introductions.
Friendships.
Referrals.
Opportunities.
But they aren’t forced.
Because I believe some of the strongest connections happen when we stop trying so hard to “network” and start getting to know each other as people.
You never really know what can come from one conversation.
The woman sitting opposite you might become a client, a collaborator, a friend, a mentor, somebody you recommend — or simply somebody whose story stays with you.
And that’s the beauty of bringing people together.
Why “Women with Flavour”?
Because none of us arrives at the table empty-handed.
We bring our experiences.
Our personalities.
Our successes and our mistakes.
Our humour.
Our wisdom.
Our stories.
Our ideas.
Our different backgrounds and perspectives.
We each bring our own flavour.
And when those flavours come together around one table, something new is created.
Come and take a seat at the table
Women with Flavour: The Parea Gathering is an invitation to come as you are.
To eat.
To talk.
To laugh.
To listen.
To meet women you might never otherwise have met.
To have conversations you weren’t expecting to have.
And to be part of a growing community built around something beautifully simple:
Women coming together.
Because sometimes we don’t need another complicated strategy for creating connection.
Sometimes we just need a table, good food, an interesting question and people willing to talk to each other.
That, to me, is Parea.
The Greek art of coming together.
And it is at the heart of Women with Flavour.