THE SUCCESS STORY OF #WCWS2019 

The 5^th World Conference on Women’s Studies 2019, was held on 25^th – 27^th April 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand under the theme “Activism, Solidarity and Diversity: Feminist Movements Toward Global Sisterhood.” The conference was organized by The International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM), Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Bridgewater State University, USA and Flinders University, Australia and The State University of New York as the Hosting Partners while Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Turkey and Fathima Jinnah Women University, Pakistan remained as the successful, collaborative academic Partners of the Conference.

INAUGURATION CEREMONY

The opening remarks of WCWS 2019 were made by the Conference Chair Prof. Diana Fox (Department of Anthropology, Journal of International Women’s Studies, Bridgewater State University, USA) together with Mr. Isanka P. Gamage (Managing Director, The International Institute of Knowledge Management).

KEYNOTE FORUM AND PLENARY SPEAKERS

The Keynote forum was one of the significant sessions of the Conference and it was enlightened by Ritu Grover (CEO, TGH Lifestyle Services Pvt. Ltd, India) and Dr. Nawal El Saadawi (World Renowned Writer, Egypt). Ritu Grover delivered the keynote speech on the topic “Gender Disparity in the Indian Corporate World” whereas Dr. Nawal El Saadawi shared her life story with the Women’s Studies participants successfully.

100+ PARTICIPANTS FROM 21 COUNTRIES

This conference consisted of over 90 participants from 21 countries around the world, including Sri Lanka, USA, Australia, India, México,  Pakistan, UAE, Thailand, Philippines, Germany, Brunei, Canada, Morocco, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Japan, Nepal, Taiwan, China, Bangladesh, UK, and Malaysia. Among our participants were women activists, researchers, academicians, policy makers, leaders, influencers, journalists and members from non-governmental organizations to share their diverse experiences, discuss, argue and ultimately to find solutions to the issues related to women. The conference highlighted key challenges and questions for Contemporary Women’s Studies Scholarship and Social Movements.

TECHNICAL SESSIONS

WCWS 2019 comprised of eighteen (18) technical sessions including a poster session. The technical sessions were under the below themes.

• Feminist Discourses, Resistance And Dissidents
• Social Media, Digital Feminisms And Sexism
• Survival, Conflict, And Loss
• Religion And Feminisms
• Marriage, Sex, And Reproduction
• Capitalism, Violence, And Representation
• Sisterhood, Solidarity, And Allies
• Equality, Quotas, And Women In The Workplace
• Co-Research, Solidarities And The Subaltern
• Writing Feminism; Challenging Otherness
• Feminism, Solidarity And Mental Health
• Strategies To Combat Gender-Based Violence
• Women In Higher Education: The Ongoing Potential For Women’s And Gender Studies
• Girls And Education: Access And Denial
• Climate Change, Ecology And Women’s Status

SPECIAL FEATURES OF WCWS 19

PANEL DISCUSSION on  GIRLS AT RISK: TAKING ON THE GLOBAL TRAFFICKING CRISIS

The 5^th World Conference on Women’s Studies (WCWS 2019) organized a Panel Discussion on “Critical global issue of trafficking” and was moderated by the Conference Chair Prof. Diana Fox (Department of Anthropology, Journal of International Women’s Studies, Bridgewater State University, USA). The panel featured co-founder of the NGO, “Friends of Thai Daughters” Jane McBride, Dr Helen McLaren, Flinders University, Australia and Prof. Madhurima Goswami, Head, Faculty of Chandraprabha Saikiani Centre for Women Studies, Tezpur University, Assam, India who are working tirelessly to disrupt the exploitation and degradation of human beings through trafficking. This panel highlighted the work that a number of groups working together to end the trafficking of girls globally allowing participants to discuss and exchange their own ideas with many peers in the field.

PANELISTS

STORYTELLING SESSION

In the spirit of the ongoing work of building a global women’s movement, the storytelling session took place within the Conference,  on 27^th April 2019.  The Conference brought together storytellers from around the world including women activists, men as allies, advocates, academics, leaders, journalists, independent researchers and NGOs in Women’s studies and related fields to share their story outside of the framework of a formal conference paper.

The storytelling session of the WCWS 2019 offered participants of the conference to share their stories in the following categories and modes of presentation:

Themes:

• Success Stories—personal and project achievements, joyful accomplishments
• Stories of Struggles–including setbacks, anger, sadness

Genres:

• Narratives
• Documentary films
• Short fiction films
• Performance art—poetry, song, short dramas

WORKSHOP ON SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS

A workshop on Scholarly Publications was facilitated by the Conference Chair Prof. Diana Fox (Department of Anthropology, Journal of International Women’s Studies, Bridgewater State University, USA). The Perspective of the publication workshop was to assist researchers who write full papers with the aim of publishing in a reputable journal or in a reputable proceeding. Through this publication workshop, the facilitator was able to disseminate knowledge on writing scientific papers and scholarly publications for future researchers. All conference participants were delighted and graced by this opportunity.

CONFERENCE CHAIR WORKSHOP

A workshop was arranged by the Conference Chair Prof. Diana Fox (Department of Anthropology, Journal of International Women’s Studies, Bridgewater State University, USA) to discuss the outcome of the Conference. Moreover, the plans for WCWS 2020 was discussed during the workshop while providing an opportunity for participants to share their views and voice their suggestions in terms of the conference theme, venue, dates, featured events and any other applicable areas. The workshop provided an insight to deliver the future conferences in a fruitful way with the outputs received by the Conference Chair, Participants and Organizers.

Partners