Inaugural Women in Cooling competition winner named

Léana Khaled Payan, a refrigeration engineer with Axima Refrigeration in France, has been named as the winner of the first European Women in Cooling Video Competition. 

The competition, organised by European contractors group AREA and World Refrigeration Day, was designed to highlight women exhibiting best practice and innovative thinking in their work.

The organisers asked that entrants provide a video of no more than 10 minutes and to speak in their local language. The aim of using their own language was to promote inclusiveness and provide a lasting resource that could be used to encourage more women into the sector. 

Payan’s entry was one of 12 finalists – three from Spain, two from France, two from Turkey, and one each from Ireland, Poland, Italy, Norway, Slovakia. All the entries can be viewed on AREA’s YouTube channel.

An after-sales service technician with Axima Refrigeration for the last five years, Payan received her prize – €1,000 (AUD$1,638)  – at the 20th European RACHP Conference in Milan.