At a time when hard-won rights are being challenged across the world, from the resurgence of far-right politics in Europe to the growing threats against reproductive rights in the US, the need for feminist discourse has never been more urgent. Yet, to this day, many do not identify as feminist. Why not?

We are bringing a panel of inspiring voices to discuss the evolving narrative of feminism and what it takes to shift current narratives that are jeopardising the progress made to date. Through an engaging and thought-provoking debate, our Fabulous Feminists will explore the pressing questions of today:

How do we keep feminism relevant and inclusive?
How do we push back against systemic pressure against feminist? And what would a feminist world look like?

This event serves as a timely reminder that the fight for gender equality is far from over. Beyond the symbolic celebrations, it is crucial to continue fostering discussions that challenge outdated narratives of feminism and the danger current political system represents in the fight for equality.

Georgia Brooks founded The Nine & The Nine Equality Initiative in 2020, inspired by the many incredible women and associations she encountered in Belgium. Based in Brussels, she is a passionate advocate for women’s rights and gender equality. Since 2017, she is also the Founder and Managing Director of the Fempower Initiative – a non-profit organisation under the auspices of the King Baudouin Foundation that supports healthcare and education projects for girls and young women throughout the Middle East.

Jeta Bejtullahu is a communications strategist passionate about narrative change. Her strength lies in grasping complex policy issues to provide strategic intelligence and then build narratives that question the status quo and build new collaborative ideas. She is known to dig into the difficult parts, with kindness and humour, not to unsettle but to understand where differences lieand what bridges we need to build and cross. She believes in promoting alternative leadership models and equipping women with skills to build and tell their narratives of success.

Joanna Maycock is an award-winning feminist organiser and campaigner, who has worked in leadership roles in civil society for decades. While leading the European Women’s Lobby, Joanna worked to implement a strategic vision for the women’s movement in Europe, to strengthen its joint work to impact EU legislation to end violence against women, tackle women’s poverty and unequal pay, and advance parity in decision-making. Today, Joanna works with civil organisations to support the practice of intersectional feminist leadership for systemic change. She brings feminist practices into facilitating events, coalitions, and organisational change processes. She also runs training workshops and retreats on feminist leadership.

Agnes Hubert is a recognised European expert on gender policy making. She was in charge of the EU gender equality policy in the nineties and continued to work on gender issues for the European Commission as a member of the in house think tank (currently IDEA). She is a professor at the College of Europe, a founding member of the first European feminist think tank Gender5plus, and a member of the Haut Conseil de l’Egalité in France. She is the author of three books (L’Europe et les femmes, identités en mouvement (1998), Democracy and Information Society in Europe , in Forward Studies series (1999), The European Union and Gender equality (2022). She was also behind the major European Commission initiatives on gender equality and
social innovation (2010, 2014). She has developed and taught seminars on “EU and Gender” at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy (Tufts University, Mass. USA) , at the Center for Political and Constitutional Studies in Madrid and at the College of Europe in Bruges.