Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex will host a reception for Women Peacebuilders at Buckingham Palace on International Women’s Day 2019
Friday, 8th March 2019
Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex will host a reception to support Women Peacebuilders on International Women’s Day 2019, at Buckingham Palace.
The reception will bring together key figures in women’s peacebuilding from around the world. Guests will include representatives from government, NGOs, charities and academia, as well as grassroots peacebuilding campaigners from countries affected by conflict.
The event will also provide an opportunity to highlight the UK’s leading role in the Women, Peace and Security agenda (WPS) and the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI). The WPS agenda aims to encourage women’s meaningful participation in peace processes, as research shows that their involvement increases the likelihood that an agreement will last longer than 15 years by as much as 35 per cent. This reception will celebrate the work of Women Peacebuilders so far and provide a forum for discussion on future efforts.
The Countess of Wessex will deliver a speech at the start of the reception. Her Royal Highness will be joined by Lord Ahmad, the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, and Visaka Dharmadasa, the founder and Chair of the Association of War Affected Women and Parents of Servicemen Missing in Action.
The Countess will have the opportunity to meet with the Women Peacebuilders and hear from those campaigning and working to drive change.
Over recent months, The Countess has met with several key figures working to support women’s role in the peacebuilding process and to prevent and respond to sexual violence in conflict – including Nobel Peace Laureate Dr Denis Mukwege and UN Special Representative Pramila Patten. Her Royal Highness also attended the PSVI Film Festival last year, and a recent Foreign Office Wilton Park conference on providing justice for survivors of sexual violence in conflict.
To get all the latest royal news delivered straight to your door, subscribe to Royal Life Magazine today.
