The premier Women in Tech Balkans Summit to be held in Dubrovnik, 1st July 2021

The Women in Tech Balkans Summit is under the high patronage of Mrs Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, the first female president of Croatia.

The main goal of this event is to bring together leaders and stakeholders of the Balkans with the aim of opening a discussion on how to deploy digital accessibility and job-ready solutions to empower women and girls of the region while promoting entrepreneurship, sustainability and innovation.

Tech is the fastest-growing, most lucrative industry in history. Increasingly however, it’s dissolving as an “industry”, and becoming the force behind every industry. Without a doubt, tech is the future of work. And yet, women’s involvement in STEM in European countries does not translate into strong participation in technology sectors.

In the Balkans, women represent less than 15% of ICT professionals and this gender and skills gap is getting wider every year. Challenges – ranging from cultural norms and biases to lack of self-confidence and online and offline harassment – hinder girls and women’s full participation. The digital acceleration driven by the COVID-19 pandemic is an historic opportunity to drive women’s involvement in technology in the region.

The European Commission’s initiatives encourage and empower women to play a more active role in the digital age and outlined a strategy to increase women’s participation in the digital sector, focusing on:

Challenging digital gender stereotypes;
Promoting digital skills and education;
Advocating for more women entrepreneurs.

Increased participation of women in the tech sector will boost the economy and allow for their full participation in society.
In alignment with the European goals, the Women in Tech Balkans Summit will focus on the importance of digital skills in closing the gender gap, boosting remote work opportunities and retaining female talent in the region.

We will partner with local stakeholders in order to implement Women in Tech global programs to create impact through action, building skills and confidence, setting women up for success.

Our flagship programs include: mentoring, female start-ups incubator and the Empower HER accelerator.

Women in Tech is on a mission to empower 5 million Women & girls by 2030, meeting 5 SDG’s: Goal 4 on quality education, Goal 5 on gender equality, Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth and Goal 10 on reduced inequalities.

Because when women rise, we all rise.

09:00 – 09:30	Welcome coffee
09:30 – 09:40	Welcome address Ayumi Moore Aoki, Founder and CEO Women in Tech® Global H.E. Irena Andrassy, Permanent Representative of Croatia in the EU H.E. Alan Bowman, Ambassador of Canada to Croatia Peter Hopwood, Master of Ceremony – Hopwoord Speaker coaching
09:40 – 10:00	Opening keynote Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Former President of Croatia
10:00 – 10:20	Fireside chat Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Former President of Croatia Peter Hopwood, Hopwoord Speaker coaching
10:20 – 10:35	Speech Ankica Gudeljević, Minister of Civil Affairs, Bosnia and Herzegovina
10:35 – 11:00	Coffee Break
11:00 – 11:05	Speech Mato Franković, Mayor of Dubrovnik
11:05 – 11:50	Panel: How to skill, promote and retain female talent in the Balkans? Dr Maja Zelihic, Professor & Department Chair, Forbes School of Business and Technology, University of Arizona Global Campus Caitlin Piper, Deputy Chief of Mission Ambassador in Croatia Teuta Sahatqija, Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo Irina Ilieva, Chief Organizational Development Officer – JA Bulgaria, Member of JA Worldwide Moderator: Andrea Sesum, WIT Ambassador for Canada, Balkans Delegate, Co-founder HER Digital Academy
11:50 – 12:30	Panel: Increasing opportunities for women led start-ups in the Balkans region Helena Matusa, Assistant Managing Director Zagorje Development Agency Bianca Tudor, Founder and CEO Elite Business Women Nikola Pavešić, Director of Startups at Infobip Jehona Lluka, Executive Director Bussiness Consultants Council Moderator: Claudia Mendes Silva, WIT Ambassador for Portugal
12:30 – 14:00	Lunch
14:00 – 14:20	Women in Tech, a Global movement Ayumi Moore Aoki, Founder and CEO Women in Tech® Global EFSE, Finance in Motion Mejra Juzbašić Bajgorić, Regional Director for Southeast Europe, Finance in Motion
14:20 – 15:00	Round table conversation with Women in Tech delegate from 5 different continents Andrea Sesum, WIT Ambassador for Canada, Balkans Delegate Claudia Mendes Silva, WIT Ambassador for Portugal Lindalia Reis, WIT Ambassador for Brazil Mafunase Malenga, WIT Ambassador for Zambia Narisa Chauvidul-Aw, WIT Ambassador for Thailand
15:00 – 16:00	Female Start-up Pitching Competition Jury presentation Nikola Pavešić, Director of Startups at Infobip Ms Bianca Tudor, Founder and President Elite Business Women Investment Fund Lindalia Reis, CEO Ions & Hacking.Rio, Investor EquityRio 50X Ms Caitlin Piper, Deputy Chief of Mission US Embassy in Croatia Dr Narisa Chauvidul-Aw, CEO and Founder of KogoPAY Group Silvina Moschini, Executive Producer at The Unicorn Hunters Show Nadia Mannell, Co-founder and Partner South Seed Capital Conny Vandendriessche, Managing Partner @ The House of HR and Owner / Founder Stella P by Pro-Ceed BV Goran Sesum, Founder at Canadian College of Business, Health & Technology Female Start-up Pitching Competition Round 1: CulturePuls Saće TonduBe Oz Beyond Merrity Stream.Nat Megi
16:00 – 16:15	Coffee Break
16:15 – 17:00	Female Start-up Pitching Competition Round 2: GoGreenOzonator PlatePay Going Remotely neebee Ultrax My Dubrovnik
17:00	Closing remarks
17:10 – 19:30	Break
19:30 – 21:30	Dining Cocktail at the Private Beach (Dubrovnik Palace, Floor 1) H.E. Alan Bowman, Ambassador of Canada to Croatia Start-up Competition awards