The first meeting of the “Women in Diplomacy” (WID) Committee was held today at the foreign ministry in Rome. Created in May and chaired by Minister for Foreign Affairs Emma Bonino, the Committee’s goal is to advance the role of women in diplomacy and foreign policy at both national and international levels. This first meeting offered an opportunity for debate and was attended by important political, business, academic, cultural and media figures.
Representing the foreign ministry, in addition to Minister Bonino, were Deputy Minister Marta Dassù and Secretary General Michele Valensise. Other participants included CEO and EXPO 2015 Commissioner Giuseppe Sala, EXPO 2015 S.p.A President and General Commissioner of the Italian Pavilion Diana Braco, Director of Communications for EXPO 2015 Rossella Citterio and President of SIOI Franco Frattini.
In discussions for the planning of WID activities through 2015, Minister Bonino underscored how EXPO 2015 was the first to foreground the female component through targeted professional, scientific, artistic and cultural initiatives, and that for this reason is was necessary to seize the opportunities it offered. Also discussed were the terms of an initial project to be carried out jointly by the foreign ministry, the EXPO S.p.A and the Mondadori Foundation, which intends to enhance the role of women in the EXPO, involving them through online forums and communities set up to collect contributions, proposals, stories and memories. The initiative will focus on the themes of food sustainability and the link between nutrition and culture and be realized in collaboration with the United Nations agencies.
Finally, on the strength of last year’s positive experience, it was confirmed that the Winter School, open to young women of the Mediterranean and North Africa, including the Gulf countries, would be repeated.