Digital empowerment of women in conflict settings: Why it matters

Registration details

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Agenda

The side event will be opened by the OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid and will bring together high level speakers from international organizations, governments, the private sector and civil society to discuss how digital tools can empower women economically and provide essential income generation opportunities in volatile conflict settings. It will provide an opportunity to showcase results and successes from the Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality commitment makers and inspire others to take action to replicate good practices and make new commitments to address the gender digital gap in the current crisis context.

Speakers

• Paivi Kaarina Kannisto, Chief, Peace, Security and Resilience Unit at UN Women HQ
• Fawzia Koofi, Afghan Politician and Women’s Rights Advocate, Former Deputy Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee
• Yuliya Sporysh, Head of the Ukrainian NGO “Girls”, supporting digital empowerment of women inside Ukraine
• Olga Pietruchova, Gender Equality Expert, Institute for Labour and Family Research, Slovakia
• Asetila Kostinger, Founder of the GoodStartUp School promoting female entrepreneurship
• Sofia Scarlat, Generation Equality Youth Activist (Romania)
• Elina Kalkku, Permanent Representative of Finland to the UN

Moderator: Lara Scarpitta, OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues.

Background

Women and girls are disproportionately affected by war and conflict. Digitalisation can offer new opportunities and support the economic empowerment of women affected by conflict. Digital tools are also critical for information on services, cash transfers and education. But there is no one size fits all: The female refugee population within and between countries of origin ranges from highly skilled in ICT to digital illiterates. Different types of empowerment are needed.

Building on evidence from war and conflict across the OSCE region and its partner countries, this high-level side event at CSW67 brings together representatives of international organizations, governments, the private tech sector and civil society to highlight how digital tools can successfully enable the empowerment of women affected by war. The event intends to:  

1. Showcase successful examples of digital services that women from and within conflict countries can benefit from;

2. Provide concrete policy recommendations for the design of effective programmatic actions to support women in volatile settings;

3. Support the Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality Action Coalition (TIGE) partners to jointly advocate for equal digital rights and opportunities; 

The event is hosted by the OSCE Gender Issues Programme, UN Women and the Government of Finland as part of their commitment to make technology and innovation gender equal and mobilize other partners to join the Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality within the Generation Equality framework.