Opinions & Interviews

In his speech Andrei Dapkiunas emphasized that the public should acknowledge women’s ability to take the lead and recognize a clear social demand and benefits of women’s leadership.

Andrei Dapkiunas also touched upon conflict resolution mechanisms in the society. In his opinion, a natural male mentality is based on the urge to win over another person and is manifested in creating “zero-sum game” societies. It is essential to replace the global “tug of war” mentality with the strategy of collaboration which will benefit all sides. It requires a different mindset based on a greater emotional depth, empathy, understanding the virtues of moderation and compromise. These qualities generally more associated with women could signify the approach of a new era of women’s leadership.

The forum has been organized by the OSCE/ODIHR with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of the Republic of Belarus in partnership with the UNDP Belarus, UNFPA Belarus, the EU Delegation to Belarus and the Belarusian Union of Women. The event has drawn together more than 100 participants from 17 countries. The agenda of the two-day forum includes panels on women’s participation in politics and in the economy, combating violence against women, strengthening women’s networks and coalition building, equal opportunities for women and men at universities. The first forum was held in Minsk in 2016.