Women and girls play a critical role in advancing both peace and development.

Research shows that families, communities and nations prosper when girls have the opportunity to participate fully in every aspect of society. Empower Peace’s Women2Women International Leadership Program (W2W) builds a network of promising young women (ages 15-19) from around the globe, engages them in the issues that define their lives and provides them with the tools, relationships and opportunities required to lead.

The Women2Women program was designed to provide young women around the world with the opportunity to learn, network and acquire leadership and professional development skills. Participants learned first-hand about the benefits, challenges and responsibilities associated with leadership from established women leaders in government, community, media and business. The Conference was created to empower young women to become future leaders.

Held at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the fourth year of Women2Women had 88 young women from 18 countries attend the conference. Delegates came from Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, South Africa, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Yemn.

The Conference took place from August 1, 2009 thrugh August 8, 2009. The delegates attended workshops on the Art of Negotiation, Building a Career, Journalism, Women in the Legislature and a Global Women Panel discussion and Discovering the Leader in You.

Speakers included Victoria Budson, founding Executive Director of the Women and Public Policy Program (WAPPP) at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government; Susan Hackley, the Managing Director of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School,  award-winning journalist Jane Christo, Congresswomen Niki Tsongas and Ambassador Swanee Hunt.

For the first time in the history of W2W, participants took part in a community service activity. The delegates volunteered at the Greater Boston Food Bank and at a local hospital for several hours.

To see a complete list of speakers, please click here.

To see the W2W 2009 schedule, please click here.