Confronting the feminist narrative through digital diplomacy as a tool for peace and international development

hosted by Voice of Women Initiative
Tuesday, June 23 / Room A/B

The feminist discourse lacks homogeneity. However, the greatest pitfall of our day has been the tendency and practice to regard the needs and challenges faced by women globally through a single feminist lens: Western feminism.

The multilateral-shuttling of ideas and information on the digital platform has made it a critical tool of diplomacy. However, this tool has not been adequately tapped to refocus the needs of women to address their own expressed needs. Neo-development theorists have not taken into account this boundless tool, with its capacity of traversing gatekeepers, in the form of agenda-setters on issues of peace and international development affecting women.

The discussion therefore has to stem from an evaluation of the participation of women in development policies right from the grassroots level and the role of policy-makers to enhance this participation through digital diplomacy or open online forums.

The discussion will focus on certain key elements, such as the equal participation of women in setting the development agenda and the importance of digital diplomacy in broadcasting the needs of women around the world.

The aim of this session is to shift the traditional notions of feminism and realign them with the reality of self-expressed narratives, told online or through digital platforms with the aim of tilting development agenda-setting from the top-bottom approach to a more inclusive, more participatory, bottom-up approach aided by the digital revolution.

We will use the “Voice of Women” platform as an example of a tool of digital diplomacy.