The Global Summit of Women was staged in Sydney late last week, for the first time the annual forum has been hosted in Australia during its 28-year history. More than 1200 delegates from 65 countries converged on Sydney from April 26 to 28 for the conference with its theme, Women: Creating Economies of Shared Value.
Summit President Irene Natividad, of Washington, spoke of the key aims, “as we continue the formation of a truly unique global web of women committed to improving women’s economic status”. She said the summit goal of “providing a global forum in which exchanges of effective strategies forged by women in all three sectors of society – government, business or civil society – continue to be timely and much needed”.
Australian business leaders Ann Sherry and Lyn Lewis-Smith co-chaired the global forum at which big picture discussions included Megatrends: Globalism vs Populism, Why Millenials are Critical to 21st Century Economies, Growing Your Business with Technology, Cultural Intelligence for the Global Businesswoman, Creating Businesses that Transform Society, the Future of News in the Digital Age, Building an Authentic Personal Brand, Women and Philanthropy, Protecting Your Business in the Internet Age and more. The sessions were led by international luminaries in their respective fields.
Former Governor General of Australia, Dame Quentin Bryce AD, was presented with the Australian Women’s Leadership Award at a gala dinner on Friday night, and Prime Minister of Bangladesh H.E. Sheikh Hasina Wazed was the recipient of the Global Women’s Leadership Award. Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop addressed the gathering at the Opening Ceremony on Thursday afternoon.
Last year’s summit was staged in Japan, and next year, 2019, the gathering will move to Zurich, Switzerland.
