
Adela Raz
Director of Afghanistan Policy Lab at Princeton School of Public & International Affairs
Director of Afghanistan Policy Lab at Princeton School of Public & International Affairs
Running Start, Student Advocacy Director, Howard University
Director for Education, Gender and Equality and Gender Envoy, FCDO
President, WomenLift Health
Director of Strategy, Microsoft
Partner at Frumtak Venture
CEO, Erskine Media
Managing Director and Partner, LEAD Next Level
EVP of Legal Affairs, HS Orka
Actress and Social Justice Humanitarian / Co-chair of RGF 2023
Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation
Head of the Networks, Partnerships and Gender Division at the OECD Development Centre
Speaker of Althingi, Parliament of Iceland
CEO, 66°North
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Iceland
Member of Parliament, Iceland
British Ambassador to Iceland, British Embassy Reykjavik
Member of Parliament, Argentina
Running Start Alum
Ambassador, Embassy of the United States of America in Iceland
Consultant
Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development, Scottish Government
Senior Advisor, Reykjavik Global
Chair, Film and TV Charity
Mayor of Reykjavík, City of Reykjavik
President of Lithuania (2009-2019)
Ambassador at Large, Gender Equality, France
Ambassador of Rwanda to the Nordic Countries
Partner, Oliver Wyman GmbH
Founder and President, DC Media Strategies
Founder, 100 Women at Davos
Deputy President, Borough of Bronx
Partner, theDifference/Impact Commons
Author and First Lady of Iceland
Chief Product Officer, Trusted Media BRands
CEO and Founder, Isleep
President, Global Policy and Advocacy, The Gates Foundation
President and CEO, Equimundo Center for Masculinites and Social Justice
Ambassador at Large, Gender Equality, USA
CEO, Soros Economic Development Fund
Executive Secretary, Malawi Human Rights Commission
Director-General, Iceland’s National Energy Authority
Member of Parliament,Alþingi
Chair and Co-Founder, Reykjavik Global Forum and Senior Advisor on Women’s Leadership, UN Women
CEO of Fair Pay Innovation Lab
Minister for Inclusion, Malta
MP / Member of the Danish Parliament
Deputy CEO, Arion Bank
Senior Program Officer, Women in Leadership, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
SG´s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security, NATO
Deputy Director, Women in Leadership, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Global CEO, Landor & Fitch, Co-chair of RGF 2023
Founder and Director, Inua Dada Foundation
Co-Founder, Mia, Mission Impact Academy
Deputy Director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Head of Strategic Relations, Microsoft
Teachta Dáil, Dáil Éireann
CEO, Museum for the United Nations – UN Live
Prime Minister of Iceland / Co-chair of RGF 2023
Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Faculty Chair of MPA Programs
Ambassador of Denmark to Iceland
Deputy CEO, Landsvirkjun
Member of Parliament, Iceland
CEO, the Council of Women World Leaders
Chief Executive Officer, Cubica Energy
Minister of Culture and Business Affairs, Iceland
Director of Civil Society, UN Women
Ambassador of the European Union to Iceland, European Union
Running Start / Alumni, Running Start
Founder, Facultas Media
Deputy Executive Director, Center for Justice and International Law, GQUAL Campaign
Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines; WPL Country Ambassador
Executive director, Outright International
Equality Lead for South and Central EMEA and Japan, Salesforce
President of Malta (2014-2019)
Secretary General, Inter-Parliamentary Union IPU / Co-Chair of RGF 2023
Head of United Nations Department of Global Communication
Global CEO, Kantar Public
Vice President; Girls and Women Strategy, UN Foundation
Associate Director, Partnerships, Co-Impact
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Malawi
Vice President for European Government Affairs, Microsoft
Member of Parliament, Tanzania
CEO, Rainforest Partnership
Chair of Women Political Leaders WPL
Co-Founder and Co-Director, Global Health 50/50
Director, OECD Development Centre
Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
Executive Director, Women in Global Health
Director: Gender, Women and Democracy, National Democratic Institute
CEO, URL Media
Running Start / Equity Officer, The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
Ambassador for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, Foreign Ministry of Norway
President and Founder of Women Political Leaders WPL
President of Switzerland (2015, 2020)
United Nations correspondent
CEO & Founder, Running Start
Chief Operating Officer, Icelandair
Deputy CEO, Alvotech
President of Finland (2000-2012)
Manager Women Business and the Law, World Bank
Member of Parliament, National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia
Deputy Secretary-General, OECD
Chief of Staff, Department of State
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan; WPL Country Ambassador, Japan
Member of Parliament, Switzerland
CEO of Advania
Director of Communications, Landsvirkjun
Member of Parliament, Iceland
Writer, speaker and activist
Minister of Finance, Iceland
The Forum relies on a high level and ambassadorial committee of Co-Chairs to advise on the Forum programme and its activities. The committee is made up of leading figures from academia, civil society, business, and politics.
These are leaders who identify with the mission of the Reykjavík Global Forum. Co-Chairs are nominated by the Women Political Leaders Board and are approved by the Icelandic Steering Committee.
Founder of Nala Feminist Collective; African Union Special Envoy on Youth (2018-2021)
Prime Minister of Iceland, Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders
Executive Director of UN Women
Global CEO of Kantar Public
Chief Executive Officer, African Leadership Institute
The Forum’s LeadersTalks are interactive, partner-led sessions geared toward generating impactful and inclusive conversations. Their purpose is to share initiatives and approaches and to openly exchange ideas, so as to inspire others to take action. LeadersTalks will address a broad variety of topics such as climate, economy, health, entrepreneurship, fair pay, integrity, political representation, domestic and digital violence, and more.
Address: Austurbakki 2, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
Attracting hundreds of Conversationists each year, the Forum offers a unique lens into the best practices and proven solutions that leaders are deploying across sectors and geographies to further advance society. We work with some of the most influential leaders and innovative problem solvers in the world. Join us in Reykjavík, Iceland.
It is with great pleasure that the Reykjavík Global Forum – Women Leaders and the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs invite you to partake in a Reykjavík Conversation.
In this new era of convening for the Reykjavík Global Forum, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is opening the doors of Icelandic embassies around the world and inviting women leaders to join ambassadors in a conversation on how leaders can build a more equitable and sustainable future in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Key commitments of the Reykjavík Global Forum have always been to harness the collective power of women leaders and to create practical tools, accessible to all leaders striving to improve society. To continue to deliver on this promise, we will be gathering the ideas that are shared during the Reykjavík Conversations and using them to inform one of the prized products of the Reykjavík Global Forum: The Reykjavík Manual. The Manual is a practical guide that draws together the insights, best practices and solutions offered by women leaders worldwide.
These are small roundtable conversations held under Chatham House Rules that will last approximately ninety minutes. For their participation in these Conversations that help shape and expand The Reykjavík Manual, attendees will be listed in the Manual as co-authors. Furthermore, in recognition of the contributions of Reykjavík Conversation participants to the Reykjavík Global Forum, attendees will receive the title of Conversationist at the Forum.
This year Reykjavík Conversations 2021 are hosted by ambassadors in the following locations:
Beijing. November 25 / 4:00 pm
New York. December 2 / 1:30 pm
Ottawa. December 7 / 10:00 am
Tokyo. December 9 / 9:30 am
Please note that all times are local. Additional locations may be confirmed at a later date.
Due to health and safety precautions and considerations of space, we can offer participation only to a limited number of Conversationists.
If you are interested in taking part in a Reykjavík Conversation and one of the above, you can also contact us any time at mail@womenleaders.global.
The Forum 2021 is a multi-location convening of around 500 people gathering in Iceland, in person Global Forum Satellites in other parts of the world, complemented by a digital gathering. The Reykjavík Global Forum provides a much needed sense of community each year and there is a strong demand from Conversationists of the past years that this sense of community needs to be replicated globally at this important time.
This year, simultaneous Global Forum Satellites – Women Leaders across the globe provide for leaders not traveling to Reykjavík the opportunity to be part of the Conversations and the possibility to use their Power, Together for Progress – which is the motto of the Reykjavík Global Forum 2021.