Global Summit of Women

The so-called Davos Summit for women, the Global Summit of Women will take place in Istanbul with the participation of Emine Erdoğan, wife of the Turkish prime minister.

The Global Summit of Women was conceived as the nexus at which all sectors – public, private and nonprofit – can come together under the common vision of dramatically expanding women’s economic opportunities globally through exchanges of working solutions and creative strategies forged by female leaders in different parts of the world. It is a business summit whose “business” focus is women’s advancement in the global economy.

This year’s summit which will take place May 5-7 will be attended by Joyce Banda, the vice president of Malawi, Nguyen Thi Doan, vice president of Vietnam, as well as the first ladies of Namibia and Malaysia.

A youth forum will also be organized during the summit, where successful young businesswomen will share their experiences with at least 150 university students.

“I wanted university students to see that they don’t have to reach mid age in order to come to prominent positions in the business world. The panelists are businesswomen aged between 20 and 30 who are leading successful businesses in various parts of the world,” said Irene Natividad, the summit president.

Tülin Akın, the owner of a website on agricultural products, is among the speakers of the panel that will be moderated by Cathy Martin, an executive from McDonald’s.

Ümit Boyner, the head of Turkish Industry and Business Association, or TÜSİAD, Suzan Sabancı, chairwoman of Akbank, and Serpil Timuray, the chief executive officer of Vodafone Turkey, are among the participants from the Turkish business world. There will also be a special session on doing business in Turkey.

There will be a session forum for first ladies and deputy prime ministers, as well as a forum for female CEOs during which trends set to affect the 21st-century workplace will be discussed.

“Building a business using technology” and “Water – The ‘Oil’ of the 21st Century – and Women” are some of the themes of the summit.

In the Leadership Development Track session, participants will discuss issues like how work/life policies and practices can improve the economic life of women, communicating effectively in the workplace and leading teams effectively.

Turkish ministers Mehmet Şimşek, Nimet Çubukçu and Selma Aliye Kavaf will also attend the summit.

For more information and to register for this event, please click here.