One of the places where women have been dramatically underrepresented is in national and international security and peace processes. To amplify the voices of women leaders in such areas, for the 4th consecutive year, WPL organises opportunities at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) 2020.
Opportunities such as WPL’s roundtables, provide an ideal environment for women leaders to discuss fundamental issues in the field of security and peace in light of their experience in the area, as well as to ensure that their voices are heard by the international security community.
If women were half the community, why were they not half the solution? Asks the United Nations. On 14th February, WPL and EY propose the high-level roundtable “Disrupting Perceptions for Better Leadership”. On this occasion, leaders gather to share their proposals on how to disrupt perceptions regarding the role of female professionals and leaders in the peace & security field. The 2019 findings of the Reykjavik Index for Leadership, launched by WPL and Kantar to illuminate the extent of prejudice against female leadership, provide a base for such discussions.
Among the speakers:
- Kyung-Wha Kang, Foreign Minister of South Korea (TBC)
- Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security
- Michèle Coninsx, Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (TBC)
- Silvana Koch Mehrin, Founder & President of WPL
- Ute Benzel, Regional Managing Partner, EY GSA (Germany, Switzerland & Austria)
“The battle we’re fighting is one of sovereignty […]. If we don’t build our own champions in all areas -digital, artificial intelligence -our choices will be dictated by others.” said French President Macron in 2019. On 15th February, WPL, McKinsey & Company, and the Aspen Strategy Group, organise a luncheon discussion at the Munich Security Conference: “Technology: The New Strategic Arms Race?” to look at how the U.S. and Europe respond to this challenge.
Foreseen speakers include:
- Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
- Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia (TBC)
- Eric Schmidt, National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence
These events are on-invitation only.
The Munich Security Conference is “the world’s leading forum for debating international security policy”. Its main objective of “to build trust and to contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts by sustaining a continuous, curated and informal dialogue within the international security community”. As the conference aims at constituting a space where the different attendees may exchange new ideas to fulfill such purposes, it is paramount women’s voices and experiences are heard.
The WPL sessions not only enrich the Conference itself but also manifest the commitment of the MSC to move towards an equitable inclusion of female perspectives on peace, security and defence policies.
said by Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference in January 2019.
Women Political Leaders is committed to highlighting the work of women in the peace and security space and encourages women around the globe to take their seats at the table where pivotal decisions are taken.
These events are on-invitation only. For more information please contact: [email protected]
