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Global Security and Gender - A Forum with Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallström

Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2015 / Time: 11:00am - 12:15pm 

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The new Swedish government has pledged to increase its focus on global women’s issues with what it describes as a feminist foreign policy. The U.S. Institute of Peace, in collaboration with the Embassy of Sweden, hosted a forum with new Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström on diplomacy and gender equality in a challenging global security environment. The forum, followed by a panel discussion and a reception, took place at the Institute on Wednesday, January 28.

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Rosenbad. Photo credit Tatinauk/Flickr

The integration of gender perspectives as a core value in foreign policy is not just fundamental for establishing long-term peace and security; it is also crucial for reaching development goals and prosperity. Today’s security environment holds massive challenges for women and girls as a result of extremism, humanitarian crises, and conflict. At the same time, Beijing+20 and the post-2015 agenda provides an unprecedented opportunity to take a fresh look at how we can create a new, inclusive framework for global security and development.

In Sweden, Minister Wallström is reviewing how her nation’s foreign policy can be strengthened further with attention to gender perspectives. At the forum, Minister Wallström presented her government’s vision of how gender perspectives can inform foreign policy in the current security context.

Following her remarks, Minister Wallström was joined by former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Ambassador Johnnie Carson, a USIP senior adviser, who moderated a discussion with the Minister, as well as U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Catherine Russell, and U.S. Ambassador Donald Steinberg (retired), a former deputy administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development who now serves as President and CEO of World Learning.

Agenda

Remarks: Minister Wallström

Panel Discussion

  • Ambassador Catherine Russell
  • Ambassador Donald Steinberg
  • Ambassador Johnnie Carson, Moderator

Reception to follow at 5:15pm.

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