CJAED Director Helmi Kittani opened the conference expressing gratitude to CJAED's partners in the conference and the Women's Unit as a whole, such as the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the Hadassah Foundation and the UJA Federation of New York. "The central aim of today's gathering is to put a strong emphasis in the public agenda on the two subjects we are leading forward: that of women as a whole, as a central component of the economy's resilience and potential and as a factor of the state's economic growth; as well as Jewish-Arab partnerships, with emphasis on helping Arab businesswomen raise their families' standard of living alongside their husbands." Kittani stressed that, especially in times of economic uncertainty, women's potential to contribute to economic growth must be developed and realized as much as possible. "Taking fuller advantage of women's capabilities can help provide all of us with some of the economic oxygen needed to get us out of the current predicament that we have come to."

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung representative Katja Tsafrir spoke of the history of KAS and of Germany's political foundations as a whole in the context of ensuring greater democratization of society, and discussed the foundation's goals in Israel. On a personal note, she expressed her admiration for the women present and empathy for their struggles, evoking her own experience.

The conference also served as a platform to announce the renewed level of involvement of Jasmine's President, leading businesswoman Ofra Strauss – Director of The Strauss Group. She discussed growing opportunities within Israel for small / medium size companies to act as suppliers to Israel's big businesses, and presented video compilations on diversity and women's perceived role and career expectations. She discussed barriers to the greater advancement of women and minorities in careers and business, and spoke of the importance of diversity – of all kinds – in the workforce. "Our emphasis in advancing diversity is on women," Strauss noted.

Large companies such as hers can influence primarily in terms of their workforce diversity and in favoring small, women and minority-owned companies in their supply chain. Ofra Strauss will help bring resources together and lead Jasmine's continued development into 2009.

MK Nadia Hilou provided her perspective as an Arab woman member of the Knesset (Labor), and the first Arab MK of either gender to be elected in direct party primaries by both Arab and Jewish voters. "Arab women have come a long way in their advancement in all areas of life – culture, education, employment – and are making more progress by the year. But this is not enough; they have not yet realized their potential and human capital, and there is still a wide gap between Arab and Jewish women," she commented, citing politics as one area in which there has been no advancement recently. Enumerating the posts in local politics filled in recent elections, she noted the absence of women in Arab localities. "While Arab society does not encourage and does not enable women to advance in politics, women themselves bear some of the responsibility. They are not fighting for it. Much strength, motivation and willpower is needed to overcome all the obstacles, and women are giving up at the outset." The involvement of women in politics is so important due to the influence of political bodies and legislation on all aspects of life, including taxation practices and other policies that harm women business owners.

Dr Ahmed Athamena of The Gertner Institute presented the results and conclusions of recent scientific studies revealing the effects of unemployment on women's health. He found a clear reverse correlation between employment and the rate of deadly heart disease, with Arab women particularly at risk. Geocartography Institute Vice President Tiva Hershman commented on the study and discussed negative perceptions of the "career woman" in society.

Participants of the conference also benefited from a presentation by business coach Ashraf Kurtam on "The Psychology of Survival & Success in Business", concentrating on the right attitudes and basic practices to adopt to ensure attainment of one's goals in life. The audience heard first-person success stories of some of Israel's most intriguing businesswomen, including Ayah Shachar of the Sano Group and 27 year-old Mas Watad whose innovative dietary consulting business has taken the Arab sector by storm and generated an internationally patented measure of foods' healthiness. Watad plans to create a significant presence in the Jewish sector in the next three years and begin exporting her model abroad within the next ten. Iman Zuabi, who is leading a private-sector project to restore historic buildings in central Nazareth and integrate them into a network of vacation rentals, discussed the importance of seizing on relative advantages within a business team, as well as setting goals and meeting them.

Approximately thirty up-and-coming businesses that are owned and run by women exhibited their products at this year's annual conference. The conference was moderated by Ruba Warwar, Israel Television Arabic service Editor and Presenter. Ofra Pasal gave the participants tips on networking, marketing and approaching bigger businesses, including topics to discuss in one's first conversation, and led them through a focused networking break.