World’s most powerful women to gather in New York

Razi Canikligil - NEW YORK

The world’s most influential women will gather at the Women in the World (WITW) Summit in New York on April 6 for the seventh time, along with many notable participants from Turkey.

Daily Hürriyet Chairwoman Vuslat Doğan Sabancı is scheduled deliver a speech at the opening session of the summit, which is also sponsored by the Aydın Doğan Foundation.

Doğan Sabancı will share the opening session, titled “The Woman I’m Here For,” with Merck Executive Vice President Dr. Julie Gerberding, Toyota Motor Sales Media Strategy and Digital Engagement Corporate Manager Lisa Materazzo, director Barkha Dutt, filmmaker Nanfu Wang and model Alek Wek.

In addition, other female participants from Turkey include main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy leader and spokeswoman Selin Sayek Böke, lawyer İpek Bozkurt and journalist Amberin Zaman.

WITW, which launched in 2009 as an offshoot of the U.S.-based online news outlet “Daily Beast,” is an initiative which aims to gather heroic women leaders whose success stories can enlighten a large array of international issues. Through the annual summits, the world’s most influential women have conveyed their experiences and stories on a vivid and inclusive platform. The event so far has hosted names such as Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Sheryl Sandberg, Sunitha Krishnan and Melinda Gates. The summit, which is organized in association with The New York Times this year, will continue until April 8 at the Lincoln Center in New York.

Other participants this year from the political and business scenes include Meryl Streep, Laura Bush and Christiane Lagarde, as well as Tom Friedman, Indra Noovi and Ajay Banga, with an agenda which will focus on peace and security.

Doğan Sabancı recently participated to the 2nd Digital Transformation Summit organized by Vodafone in Istanbul, where she delivered a speech at a panel titled “Turkish Business World.” During the panel, Doğan Sabancı underlined Hürriyet’s quest to develop its big data technology in an “age of wisdom.”