Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italian Republi : Starting from girls. Women’s Forum on inequality and sustainable growth

As part of Italy's Presidency of the G7, on 7 and 8 April the Farnesina is hosting the International Dialogue Forum, 'Starting from girls. Women's Forum on inequality and sustainable growth,' organized in partnership with WE-Women Empower the World, the Aspen Initiative for Europe, and Valore D.

'Strengthening the rights and abilities of young women is a prerequisite for helping them become agents of change. Bridging the gender gap is vital to ensure inclusive processes of growth and development, in line with the priorities of our Presidency of the G7,' says Angelino Alfano, Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The Forum evolves out of the conviction that strengthening young women's rights and abilities is a prerequisite for turning women into potential agents of change. The Forum for Dialogue aims to build an international female empowerment alliance as an essential component of fairer and sustainable growth. A series of proposals will be discussed for the G7, geared towards strengthening women's contribution to economic growth and participation on the labour market, technological development and sustainability. Special attention is being paid to migration-related issues ('women on the move') and evolution of the global care chain, including its implications for health and healthcare systems.

The conference opens with a video message from Federica Mogherini,High Representative of the European Union of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Participants include Maria Elena Boschi, Italian Undersecretary of State, Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Rome; Valeria Fedeli, Italian Minister of Education, Universities and Research; Beatrice Lorenzin, Italian Minister of Health, Rome; Emma Bonino, President, WE-Women Empower the World; President, European Council on Foreign Relations; Marta Dassù, Chair, The Aspen Initiative for Europe; Executive President, WE-Women Empower the World; Linda Lanzillotta, Vice President, Italian Senate; Vincenzo Amendola, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Rome; Mario Giro, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Rome; Benedetto Della Vedova, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Rome; Princess Sarah Zeid, Her Royal Highness of Jordan; Laurence Rossignol, Minister for Families, Children and Women's Rights, Paris; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director UN Women, New York; Diane Jacovella, Deputy Minister G7 Foreign Affairs Sous-Sherpa, Ottawa; Imen Ben Mohamed, Member, The Ennahdha Party, Tunis; Marietje Schaake, Vice Chair, Delegation for Relations with the United States; Member, Committee on International Trade, European Parliament, Brussels; Marc Benayoun, Chief Executive Officer, Edison, Milan; Diana Bracco, President and CEO, Bracco Group, Milan; Flavia Bustreo, Deputy Director General, WHO ‑ World Health Organization, Geneva; Ilaria Capua, Director, One Health Center of Excellence, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; Catherine Colonna, Ambassador of France to Italy, Rome; Elisabetta Belloni, Secretary General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Rome; Chantal De Jonge Oudraat, President, WIIS-Women in International Security, Washington, DC; Veronica De Romanis, Stanford University The Breyer Center for Overseas Studies in Florence; Maria Patrizia Grieco, Chairman, Enel, Rome; Emerine Kabanshi, Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health, Zambia; Kathleen KennedyTownsend, Chair, Institute of Human Virology, Baltimore; Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir, Chair of the Executive Board, WPL-Women Political Leaders Global Forum, Brussels; Meg Jones, Chief of Economic Empowerment, UN Women, New York; Monica Maggioni, Chairman, RAI ‑ Radio Televisione Italiana, Rome; Marialina Marcucci, President, Robert F. Kennedy Foundation of Europe, Rome; Sandra Mori, President, Valore D, Milan; Monica Parrella, Director General, Department for Equal Opportunities, Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Rome; Lia Quartapelle Procopio, Member of the Italian Parliament, Rome; Gabriela Ramos, Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20, OECD ‑ Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris; Simona Scarpaleggia, CEO, Ikea Switzerland and Board Member, IKEA Food, Zurich; Hanna Serwaah Tetteh, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana; Lawyer, 'Osafo Buabeng & Co' Law Firm, Tema, Ghana; Helle Thorning‑Schmidt, CEO, Save the Children, Fairfield, CT; Luisa Todini, Chair of the Steering Committee, Project Grow-Generating Real Opportunities for Women, Rome; Manuela Tomei, Director of the ILO's Condition of Work and Employment Programme, Geneva; Beatrice Trussardi, Chairman, Friends of Aspen; President, Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan; Susanne Marianne Wasum‑Rainer, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Italy, Rome; Avivah Wittenberg Cox, CEO, 20‑first, London; Alexander Zehnder, Chairman and CEO, Sanofi, Milan