The regional conference convened high-ranking foreign diplomats and select participants from across Georgia.
On 2 and 3 December, the Max Planck Foundation, in partnership with the Civil Council on Defense and Security, concluded a year-long series of deliberative sessions held across Georgia to explore the merits and feasibility of feminist perspectives in foreign policy and beyond.
The Regional Conference on Empowering Voices for Inclusive Peace and Security in the Georgian capital offered a platform to distinguished participants in this year’s earlier proceedings. Scholars and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines presented their initiatives and findings, illuminating the practical potential and challenges of empowering policies within the broader conceptual framework of feminist foreign policy.
The proceedings opened with keynote addresses by the Ambassadors of the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Norway and proceeded with participants’ detailed disquisitions on their undertakings. Over the course of two days, their presentations and lively discussion explored the applicability and promise of feminist perspectives in contexts that shape the lives of Georgian women and men alike, from lived experiences in religious, work and educational settings to the bridging of broader regional divides. A locally authored handbook has been prepared for publication, serving as an accessible Georgian-language reference work on the current state of the debate to elevate inclusivity, participation and empathy to greater prominence in national policy-making and peace-building.
The proceedings were part of the project Empowering Voices for Inclusive Peace and Security, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.