The Countess of Wessex in Norway promoting WPS
As part of her continued work in Women, Peace and Security, the Countess of Wessex visited Oslo, Norway to attend the International Civil Society Action Network Forum (ICAN). The organization connects a network of women working on peacebuilding from around the globe in order to come up with pragmatic ways to include women in peace talks and negotiations. The network allows women to share their experience and expertise with one another to make actionable change.
The Forum is an annual event which, this year, brought together over one hundred women peacebuilders from nearly fifty countries. These women are striving to bring long lasting peace to regions affected by conflict and the Countess of Wessex has been working alongside them to help create a solution.
Following conflict, it is crucial that women have a seat at the table of negotiations since women often experience sexual and physical violence in conflict. In order to create a peace that will last, their voices must be heard and their stories included. The Countess of Wessex is making this a central pillar of her work for the next several years.
While in Oslo the Countess also visited the British Ambassador's residence in Oslo and celebrated the 150th birthday of Queen Maud by planting a tree. Queen Maud was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria and the first modern Queen of Norway.
The Countess of Wessex will be visiting New York and Toronto to promote women in finance this week. xx