2024 World Leadership Conference Day 2
May 16, 2024
Our first day of sessions was incredible.
An outstanding performance of Defying Gravity set the stage for our conversations, followed by opening remarks from IWF Global President Carolyn Carter who reminded us that, “we are a global community that doesn’t accept limits; that’s why our theme is 50 years of women making a difference.”
In our first session, Lisa Dyson, PhD, Linnéa Kornehed Falck, and Stacy Flynn shared how they are using technology to bring newfound efficiency and sustainability to sectors like transportation, fashion and agriculture – and Deborah Buresh Jackson underscored the importance of investing in groundbreaking ventures spearheaded by women. Later, we heard from Lan Guan, who highlighted the critical role women play in expanding access to generative (“gen”) AI to improve the quality of future AI models and ensure the application of AI across business and society delivers results that promote equity and positive change.
From our session on health, we learned women including Drs. Janice Chen, Angela Diaz, and Nawal Nour are the driving force behind the latest and greatest innovations in health care. From breakthroughs like CRISPR technology to treat disease, to critical changes in the very structures upon which our U.S. health care system is built, women are driving change to address health challenges for high-risk populations at all ages, all around the world.
Our final session on women changing the world of media was equally inspiring. Panelists Ingrid Ciprián-Matthews, Sarah Frier, graciela mochkofsky, and Carolyn Ryan reflected on the state of journalism and how journalists today are more aware than ever of their responsibility to fulfill the public need for accurate information. In sharing their vision, one thing was clear: storytelling centered around the information needs for individuals and communities – both local and global – is the future.
We were honored to hear a special message from Hillary Clinton, Former U.S. Secretary of State, Founding Member, IWF Arkansas, and 2017 IWF Hall of Fame Honoree yesterday afternoon: “Together, we can help women around the world seize their own power, and rights.”
We were also honored to hear from founding member Muriel Fox, Author of The Women’s Revolution; Co-Founder, the International Women’s Forum and the National Organization for Women, as we reflected on the rich heritage of the IWF. She described the women of today’s organization as preeminent in all their fields, influential and powerful, and reminded us of our continued commitment to enacting change for generations to come!
