Business programme

The current climate has made the task of uniting the efforts of international organizations to protect the rights of citizens around the world more urgent than ever. International women’s associations actively oppose discrimination based on language, nationality, culture, religion, or other grounds. In their activities, they use both legal mechanisms and elements of soft power – the development of international humanitarian cooperation, cultural exchange, and support for women’s entrepreneurship.

What tools can women use to protect the rights and interests of citizens? How can international cooperation contribute to this? How can the practice of applying the positive experience of different countries in protecting human rights be expanded? What role do international women’s associations play in popularizing the achievements of national culture and art?

Moderator:
Yelena Afanaseva — Member of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Coordinator of the Eurasian Women's Forum Council projects 'Russian Compatriots Abroad', 'Women Parliamentarians Club', Russian Federation (Orenburg region)

Panellist:
Natalia Krylova — Chief Scientific Associate, Institute of African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Federation (Moscow);

The Women 20 (W20) meeting is one of the main events of the Eurasian Women’s Forum. Over its history, W20 has become an effective tool for interaction between female members of society and world leaders. Thanks to W20, initiatives proposed by women have become impetuses for reforms in different countries.

What are the W20’s priorities in 2024–2025? How do they correlate with the goals of major international associations, such as the UN, the ASEAN Confederation of Women’s Organisations, and the Eurasian Women’s Forum? What can W20 offer to more actively promote the initiatives of women who participate in integration associations? How can they consolidate their efforts to enhance the role of international interaction among women at the global level?

Moderator:
Victoria Panova — Russian W20 Sherpa, Coordinator of the project of the Council of the Eurasian Women's Forum "Women in the dialogue of international organizations and associations", Vice-Rector, National Research University Higher School of Economics; Russian Federation (Moscow)

Panellists:
Graciela Nelida Adan — Member of the Women's G-20 for the Argentine Republic, Argentina;
Narnia Bohler-Muller — South African W20 Delegate, Republic of South Africa
Satoko Kono — Member of the Japanese Delegation to the Women's G20, Japan;
Svetlana Lukash — Deputy Head, Expert Department of the President of the Russian Federation; Russian G20 Sherpa, Russian Federation (Moscow)
Elena Myakotnikova — Member of the Russian Delegation to the Women's Twenty (W20), Coordinator of the project of the Council of the Eurasian Women's Forum "Climate Initiatives and Carbon Regulation", Russian Federation (Moscow)
Janaina Nolasco Gama — Co-Chair of the Women's G20 in Brazil, Brazil;
Sandhya Virsinh Purecha — India Sherpa at the Women's G20, India;
Chiou See Anderson — Head of the Women's G20, Australia;
Gulden Turktan — Founding President of W20; Turkish W20 Sherpa; Member, Presidential Council, Turkey
Hadriani Uli Silalahi — Indonesian W20 Sherpa, Indonesia

Women are playing an increasing role in almost all areas of the economy, as well as in the field of law. The expansion of trade and economic ties and the loyalty of a company’s partners and its overall economic results largely depend not only on the qualifications and expertise of lawyers, but also on the qualities that are often found in women: creativity and the ability to negotiate and find compromises.

How does the legal regulation of the economy contribute to economic development? What role do women lawyers play in harmonizing the legal approaches used to solve any problems, and how is this affecting the development of cooperation? Which legal standards are strategically important for international cooperation? What practices exist to encourage the peaceful resolution of disputes and improve corporate governance? How is legal education being transformed? What role does mentoring play for the younger generation of practicing lawyers?

Moderator:
Elena Borisenko — Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, Gazprombank, Russian Federation (Moscow)

Panellists:
Julia Mullina — General Director, Russian Arbitration Center at the Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization "Russian Institute of Modern Arbitration", Center for International and Comparative Legal Studies, Russian Federation (Moscow)
Natalia Pavlova — Judge from the Russian Federation, Court of the Eurasian Economic Union, Russian Federation (Moscow)
Maria Luisa Ramos Urzagaste — Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Bolivia to the Russian Federation, Bolivia
Natalya Tretyak — General Director, Prosveshcheniye, Russian Federation
Teresa Cheng — Founder Member & Co-Chairman Asian Academy of International Law, China

For decades now the West has been pushing its rules and so-called liberal values on the rest of the world. The result is a totalitarian dictatorship, especially as regards issues of gender. Mothers are no longer called mothers, fathers are thrown in jail for insisting that their daughters be called daughters, and biological men are allowed to beat up on women in the name of sport. Such a culture of radicalism is enforced with religious fanaticism and does not reflect the views, attitudes, and wishes of the majority of the world’s population, with a rejection of its basic tenets growing even in the West itself.

More and more nations are asserting themselves and their right to defend their cultural sovereignty. It is in this context that Russia finds itself with an historical opportunity to bring our changing world the idea of healthy traditionalism. How should we capitalize on this opportunity? What effective solutions exist?

Moderator:
Margarita Simonyan — Editor-in-Chief, RT TV channel and Rossiya Segodnya Media Group, Russian Federation

Panellists:
Maria Zakharova — Official Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Russian Federation
Natalya Kochanova — Council of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus
Binod Singh — Director, BRICS Institute, India
Veronika Skvortsova — Head, Federal Medical-Biological Agency of the Russian Federation
Aleksander Yakovenko — Rector, The Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Russian Federation