Watch the full recording of the webinar here

Motto

“A feminist foreign policy or a feminist policy, a feminist government is
really a part of strengthening democracy because women make up half
of the population on this planet. And without women participating fully,
enjoying fully human rights, democracy will not thrive.”
(Margot Wallström, former minister for foreign affairs of Sweden)

Date: 2 March 2022, Tuesday, 2 pm EET

Format of the event: Webinar via Webex

Key-note speakers:

• E. Mrs. Therese HYDEN, Ambassador of Sweden in Romania
• Luminița POPESCU, Deputy Minister, Head of the Agency for Equal Opportunity, Romania
• Agnieszka GRAFF, Ph.D. (dr hab.), professor at the American Studies Center, University of Warsaw, feminist activist/scholar;
• ZuhalYEȘILYURT-GÜNDÜZ, Ph.D. professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations, TED University, Turkey
• Ekatherina ZHUKOVA, Senior lecturer, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Lund University, Sweden

Panel guests: open to all ESEE Fanel Members who confirm their participation

• Moderator: Ramona Avramescu, Reporter, Public television TVR
• Host: Liliana Popescu, Vice-Rector for International Relations, The National University of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA), President of the ESEE Fanel Network

Event description

As East and South Europe are engulfed in uncertainty and turmoil brought by the global pandemic and by the general geopolitical disarrangements, such as the energy crisis, the Russia-Ukraine-NATO strife, the delayed EU membership of the Western Balkan countries, the growing illiberal tendencies etc, a feminist perspective in foreign policy is highly relevant and possibly crucial.

Margot Wallström, Sweden’s former foreign minister, made headlines across the world in 2014 when Sweden became the first country in the world to legally adopt a feminist foreign policy based on the 2000 UN resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). Since then, some countries have followed Sweden’s example and the European Parliament has encouraged EU member states to implement similar policies. However, the EP’s call did not echo enough for the governmental authorities in the East and South-East Europe, where states are far from implementing “tangible feminist solutions to foreign policy problems” (The Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy, Berlin).

The webinar aims at discussing dimensions of Feminist Foreign Policy, and their possible implementation in our region.

Questions to be addressed during the webinar

• What is Feminist Foreign Policy?
• How relevant is FFP in times of crisis?
• What would be the opportunities and impediments in the region to adopt FFP?
• How could in practical terms a FFP be implemented in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe?
• What would be the regional consequences if states prioritized gender equality in foreign affairs?

Participants in the fanel: students, public authorities’ representatives, members of the research and academic community, journalists, human rights activists, NGO representatives, women and men interested in feminism, EU officials, diplomats.