eShe’s Indo-Pak Peace Summit Led by Women

Update – 18 January, 2021: The Summit has been successfully concluded. Please stay tuned for coverage coming up on eShe.

Let’s start 2021 on a note of collaboration, peace and woman power! We’re excited to invite you to eShe’s Indo-Pak Peace Summit Led by Women, where over 40 brilliant women from around the world will come together virtually to share their experiences and brainstorm for practicable solutions to build lasting peace in South Asia.

Our focus is celebrating our shared heritage, fostering friendships, and channeling the energy of women and youth. The idea is to begin 2021 on a positive and optimistic note of “Let’s DO this!”

Aekta Kapoor, founder and editor of eShe, says, “After a year of loss and conflict, let us take practical steps to foster friendships, collaborations and harmony in our country and neighbourhood in 2021. This Summit is not for voicing hollow promises by those with political power. It’s about brilliant minds who are actually creating value in their own fields coming together to build peace. And women are usually inclined to think in terms of cooperation, sustainability and building relationships, which is what the region needs right now.”

The schedule includes talks by notable peace activists from South Asia and worldwide; panel discussions between award-winning filmmakers, global youth activists, writers, designers, and more; a workshop on unconscious biases and technology, and even a meditation session, all by women speakers.

Dates: 16th and 17th January, 2021

Time: 3 to 7 pm India | 2.30 to 6.30 pm Pakistan | 9.30 am to 1.30 pm UK – both days

Entry: INR 900 for both days. Open to all, free for mediapersons and bloggers.

Speakers and Panelists

SCHEDULE

Day 1: 16th January, 2021 (India Standard Time)

Host: Eva Vander Giessen, The DO School

1500 hrs	Introduction: Let’s DO This! Aekta Kapoor, founder and editor, eShe (India)
1515 hrs	Talk: Yin Intelligence in Action Dr Scilla Elworthy, peace builder, author and three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee (UK)
1545 hrs	Power of the Written Word: How Literature Can Build and Rebuild Ties Panel 1: Alice Albinia, award-winning author and scholar of South Asian history (UK) Bina Shah, writer, essayist and feminist (Pakistan) Moni Mohsin, columnist and bestselling novelist (Pakistan) Natasha Badhwar, filmmaker, columnist, author, media team lead at Karwan e Mohabbat (India) Preeti Gill, publisher and founder of Majha House (India) Sheela Reddy, book critic and author of Mr and Mrs Jinnah (India) Moderator: Mehvash Amin, publisher and editor of The Aleph Review (Pakistan)
1640 hrs	Trust Economy: Empowering Communities Through Business and Culture Panel 2: Anshu Khanna, award-winning founder of The Royal Fables exposition (India) Avni Sethi, interdisciplinary artist and founder of Conflictorium Museum (India) Natasha Noorani, musician and ethnomusicologist (Pakistan) Sanya Dhir, creative director of couture label Diva’ni (India) Reema Abbasi, senior sociopolitical journalist, author, peace and human-rights activist (Pakistan) Vaishnavi Kumari of Kishangarh, founder of Studio Kishangarh (India) Moderator: Sonya Rehman, art and culture journalist, founder of culture platform From Lahore With Love (Pakistan)
1725 hrs	The Role of Women in Building Peace Discussion: Dr Scilla Elworthy, peace builder, author, three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr Meenakshi Gopinath, Padma Shri awardee, political scientist and founder of WISCOMP
1800 hrs	Documenting Heritage: Keeping Bonds Alive Through Art and Design Panel 3: Amna Shariff, jewellery designer and craft connoisseur (Pakistan) Masooma Syed, artist and art academic (Pakistan) Mehr F Husain, journalist and author of Pakistan: A Fashionable History (Pakistan) Reena Saini Kallat, artist, sculptor and photographer (India) Ritu Khandelwal, architect and palace restorer (India) Suparna Handa, managing director, Sarita Handa luxury home design (India) Moderator: Suparnaa Chadda, founder of the SABERA Awards (India)
1845 hrs	Meditation: Step into Your Power Aekta Kapoor, founder and editor, eShe
1900 hrs	End of day one

Day 2: 17th January, 2021 (India Standard Time)

Hosts: Manvi Pant, Manasvi Jerath – eShe

1500 hrs	Welcome to day two Aekta Kapoor, founder and editor, eShe
1515 hrs	Talk: Acts of Peace and Freedom Gurmehar Kaur, student leader and peace activist (India-UK)
1545 hrs	What Works: How Global Youth Organisations Are Leading the Way Panel 4: Dr Devika Mittal, scholar and convener at Indo-Pak peace initiative Aaghaz-e-Dosti (India) Isha Jerath, National VP, youth organisation AIESEC (Switzerland) Kirthi Jayakumar, feminist researcher, founder of The Gender Security Project and Saahas (India) Saadia Gardezi, political cartoonist, journalist and co-founder of Project Dastaan (Pakistan) Tooba Tahir, art educator, peace agent, Salamti Fellow (Pakistan) Moderator: Ananya Jain, racial equality representative, University of St Andrews (Scotland)
1630 hrs	Workshop: How to Understand Your Biases and Stop Being Played by Technology Shweta Bhandral, founder, The Future Skills Company and Google News Initiative India Network Trainer
1710 hrs	Talk: Women and Peace Radhya Almutawakel, human-rights defender and founder of Mwatana (Yemen)
1735 hrs	Firing Imaginations Not Bullets: How Cinema Paves the Way to Peace Panel 5: Alankrita Shrivastava, acclaimed filmmaker and screenwriter (India) Haya Fatima Iqbal, Academy and two-time Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker (Pakistan) Mehreen Jabbar, award-winning film and television director and producer (USA) Sapna Bhavnani, director and producer of Sindhustan documentary (India) Shailja Kejriwal, chief creative officer – special projects, Zee Entertainment (India) Tazeen Bari, documentary director, producer and cinematographer (Pakistan) Moderator: Pravishi Das, actor and conflict-resolution specialist (India)
1835 hrs	Lens of Humanity: The Essence of India and Pakistan in Cinema Discussion: Sabiha Sumar, multiple award-winning filmmaker and a Sundance alumnus (Germany) Aekta Kapoor, founder and editor, eShe (India)
1900 hrs	End of day two

With gratitude to: