AIWF and WiSER launch a key report ahead of COP28 in the UAE, exploring international strategies to embed diversity and nurture women’s leadership across: climate action, finance, business, AI, STEM research, education and innovation.
On 10 May 2023, ahead of the UAE hosting the UN Climate Change Conference COP28, the Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF) and the Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy platform (WiSER, an initiative of Masdar) joined forces to champion women-led innovation at a major conference at the Royal Academy of Engineering in London, ‘On the Road to COP28: Women-Led Innovation in Climate, Sustainability & STEM’.
‘On The Road to COP28’ is a unique and inclusive initiative of AIWF and WiSER to facilitate new collaborations supporting SDG17 (‘Partnerships for the Goals’). It ensures women’s voices are front and centre in global conversations about climate action, food security, water resilience, clean energy, the future of work, responsible business, financing sustainability and innovation, and technology and the digital economy. The initiative, designed to foster greater UK-GCC-MENA collaboration, is a critical partnership from the AIWF and WiSER communities to the global dialogue on women’s critical role in mitigating climate change – and innovating sustainable, equitable and inclusive solutions towards a better future for people and planet.
Core COP28 topics underpinned the program and recurred throughout the international conference including: capacity-building, climate finance, climate technology, cooperative action on the SDGs, education, youth, gender and innovation. The key discussions and conclusions emerging from the conference panel sessions have been synthesized into a report and recommendations that AIWF and WiSER have today jointly published. The report will be presented to the COP28 Presidency in the UAE.
The AIWF x WiSER Conference was addressed by nearly 40 leading lights, experts and thought leaders, with distinguished panel chairs and speakers representing diverse sectors spanning non-profit organisations, private sector corporations, international institutions and civil society including: Masdar, The World Bank, the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan, HSBC, Dell, the UK Department for Business & Trade, the World Energy Council, ADNOC LNG, Mission Innovation, Bahrain’s Royal University for Women, Vodafone UK, the London School of Economics, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Standard Chartered, the SANAD Fund for MSME and Vistra.
The conference was attended by 120 senior and emerging women leaders working in government, the international institutions, ESG, STEM, finance, business, entrepreneurship, civil society representatives, academics and higher education leaders. AIWF and WiSER were also proud to welcome a number of Master’s students and early career researchers, and AIWF members, guests, fellows and delegates who attended from across the UK, EU and the Arab world from the GCC and MENA region.
Read the full story and download the report and recommendations here.
