Kansainvälinen Helvi Sipilä -seminaari järjestetään 20. kerran New Yorkissa 11.3.2026. Ilmoittaudu paikan päälle täällä. Seminaarinauhoite jaetaan tilaisuuden jälkeen.

20th International Helvi Sipilä Seminar: Advancing Women’s Leadership

Please register here

Time: 11 March 2026 at 16.00 – 17.30, followed by a reception

Venue: Ukrainian Institute in America, 2 E 79th Street, New York, NY 10075

Helvi Sipilä (1915-2009) was one of Finland’s first female lawyers and the first woman to run for president of the nation. She made her most significant career as Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations – as the first woman in the world.

The theme of CSW70 is at the core of Helvi Sipilä’s legacy – and is critical to the empowerment of women around the world. This year, the Helvi Sipilä seminar will be organized for the 20th time, addressing the growing disparity in gender equality which is happening world-wide at a worrying rate. It  is also reflected in the decline in women’s leadership positions globally. The seminar will promote full and effective participation of women in public life and decision-making and highlight the role of women as leaders in times of instability and uncertainty. The seminar will also highlight the significance of global political participation among young women, minorities, and other women in vulnerable positions. Furthermore, it will seek to identify and promote effective measures to address obstacles to women’s political engagement, including hate speech and harassment. The event will also ask whether the time has come to elect a woman as the next UN Secretary-General.
This year, the seminar is organized in cooperation with the Ukrainian Institute in America.

BACKGROUND TO THE SEMINAR THEME

UN Women’s recent publication, Women Political leaders 2025 from June 2025 reveals that women’s political leadership in executive positions has not only stalled – it is declining. The continued underrepresentation of women leaders in state or government leadership and in key ministerial positions is a testament to widespread barriers and insufficient and uneven commitment to gender equality in political leadership. As representatives of Finnish civil society we strongly believe that this backlash has to be tackled together locally, nationally and globally.

PROGRAMME

Moderator: Silvia Modig, Chair of the National Council of Women of Finland

16.00 Opening words

           Ms. Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, Minister of Social Security in Finland

16.10 Keynote: Women’s access to political decision-making is a crucial question for all humankind.

          Ms. Kirsi Madi, Deputy Executive Director for Resource Management, Sustainability and         Partnerships of UN Women

16.20 Panel Discussion: Women’s leadership in difficult times. What can we learn from these times of growing uncertainty, pushback of women’s rights and global conflicts?

Panelists:
         Ms. Yuliya Kusher, Founder and CEO of Solo for Diamonds, Ukraine
         Ms. Lushomo Thebe, YWCA Leadership cohort, YWCA Aotearoa New Zealand
Third panelist TBA

17.20          Closing remarks

         Ms. Elina Kalkku, Permanent Representative of Finland to the UN

17.30          Reception

The event will be recorded, and the recording will be distributed widely through the organizing NGOs.

VENUE DETAILS

The seminar takes place at the Ukrainian Institute of America

2 E 79th Street, New York, NY 10075

The event takes place on the 2nd floor ballroom, with a staircase leading to the area. There is a small elevator in the building. Unfortunately there is no wheelchair access to the building.

ORGANISERS

To commemorate Sipilä’s trailblazing legacy, five Finnish women’s organizations, The Finnish Federation of Graduate Women, The National Council of Women of Finland, UN Women Finland, YWCA Finland and the Coalition of Finnish Women’s Association NYTKIS have organised the International Helvi Sipilä Seminar annually during the UN CSW weeks (Commission on the Status of Women). 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the Helvi Sipilä Seminar. This year, the seminar is organized in cooperation with the Ukrainian Institute in America.

Contact: helvisipilaseminar@gmail.com