RSC Director Richard Giragosian was invited to speak at the Fourth International Conference entitled, “Economy of War and Peace: Impact on Women,” held on 8 September in Yerevan, organized by the Armenian NGO “Democracy Today” and the “Women of South Caucasus for Peace and Prosperity” NGO.
Giragosian joined several other notable speakers, including UK Ambassador to Armenia Judith Farnworth, Gegham Baghdasaryan, the head of the Stepanakert Press Club and editor of the Analyticon magazine, as well as former Ukrainian Ambassador to Armenia Oleksandr Bozhko and Ghaidaa Odat, a representative from the NGO Syrian Women’s Commission.
In his presentation, Giragosian focused on five key elements of the issue of conflict and gender: first, the need for education to raise awareness, foster recognition of the problem and garner greater respect for the gender-related aspects of conflict; second, the imperative for engagement, in both public policy and the political process, in order to defend and advance the interests of women in conflict management and prevention; third, the necessity of empowerment, to offer society more of a voice and choice in gender-related advocacy efforts; fourth, the task of addressing the economics of conflict, both on a the basic family level as well as the wider societal impact, while stressing the need for greater opportunity and mobility; and fourth, enabling change, noting that it is the woman in society that is the agent for revolutionary change.
http://www.panorama.am/en/news/2016/09/08/Richard-Giragosian/1638939