Members of Stamford-based Women”™s Business Development Council”™s management team attended the Second Annual Istanbul Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, recently.
WBDC was invited as the guest of the Peace Islands Institute (PII), one of the event organizers, to discuss economic equity and economic self-reliance, two of the 18-year-old WBDC’s pillars.
“The Istanbul Summit is an international, non-governmental, multi-sector forum, which aims to gather primarily women leaders and stakeholders from every quarter of the international community with a new topic each year,” the WBDC said in a prepared statement.
“It aims to provide a setting for networking and experience sharing among stakeholders around the world to exchange ideas and seek ways of cooperation to address contemporary global challenges in a gender-sensitive manner,” the WBDC said.
The topic was, “Women as the Beneficiaries and Actors of Humanitarian Action.” The WBDC reported a total 69 countries were represented and more than 300 people attended, including ambassadors and members of parliament.
WBDC CEO Fran Pastore, who is both an organization founder and national leader, was among the attendees.
Pastore said, “WBDC was honored to be selected by PII to represent the U.S. delegation at this important international summit for women. Our expertise in the areas of economic self-reliance and economic equity for women was very much in demand at the summit. We confirmed something we already knew from this experience: economics transcend the globe for every single issue which impacts successful and peaceful communities around the globe. When women are economically self-reliant they will affect positive and peaceful global change.”
Besides Pastore, conference attendees included Kimberly DeSousa, WBDC director; Marian Cicolello, WBDC vice president, Karen Ham, WBDC finance director; and Melissa Sirola, manager, population health program Magnacare.
In January, PII awarded Pastore with its Business Person of the Year Award at its Annual Friendship Dinner in Hartford. Â The WBDC mission is to educate, empower and promote women through entrepreneurship and financial education.
