About the Event

The Global Partner Network for Feminist Foreign Policy will organize an interactive event, featuring a series of discussions, in preparation for the 5th Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy and Gender Equality. The Ministerial Conference, hosted by the Government of Spain, will be held in Madrid on June 2-3, 2026. This event will include three discussions with government and civil society speakers, followed by a workshop session with the audience. Speakers will explore: the progress and evolution of the annual FFP Ministerial Conferences, key issues and thematic priorities (with a focus on financing for gender equality and the women, peace and security agenda), and accountability and civil society participation.

After each discussion, participants will be invited to share their inputs via Mentimeter. The moderator will present the results during the workshop session, during which participants will be invited to share further comments from the floor. Participant inputs will be collated and summarized in a brief memo, and subsequently submitted to the Government of Spain for consideration in their Ministerial Conference design and planning processes.

This workshop will aim to foster greater collaboration within the Global Partner Network, encourage transnational and cross-sectoral solidarity around the FFP agenda, and sustain momentum in the lead up to and following the Ministerial Conference.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Time: 8:30 AM- 10:00 AM EST

Location: UN Church Center, Second Floor, New York, NY

Organizers

The workshop is jointly organized by Global Partner Network for Feminist Foreign Policy members:

• The African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)

• Equipop

• Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative

Speakers

• Spogmay Ahmed, Deputy Director, Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative

• Lyric Thompson, Founder and CEO, Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative

• Ana Paula Lavalle Arroyo, Third and Sixth Committee Representative, Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations, Government of Mexico

• Ana María Alonso Giganto, Ambassador-at-Large for Feminist Foreign Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Government of Spain

• Yasmine Janah, Multilateral Policy Advisor on Gender Equality, Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Government of France

• Jim Monkel, Global Advocacy Officer, Hivos/Walking the Talk

• Carole Ageng'o, Chair, The African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)

• Carla Akil, Assistant to the Director, Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship, American University of Beirut (AUB)

• Emilia Blancarte Jaber, Consultant, Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative

• Sehnaz Kiymaz Bahceci, Founding Co-Director, Feminist Diplomacy Lab

Biographies

Lyric Thompson |

Founder and CEO, Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative

Lyric Thompson (she/her) is the Founder and CEO of the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative, where she publishes and advises governments and thought leaders on feminist foreign policy. In her 2-decade career, she has advocated on women’s rights issues at the United Nations, G7/G20, White House, the U.S. State Department, USAID and the Department of Defense. She is an adjunct professor at the George Washington University, where she teaches a graduate level course on women’s rights advocacy. Previously, Lyric has served as: the Vice President of Policy, Advocacy, and Strategy at the International Center for Research on Women, the founding co-chair of the Coalition for Women’s Economic Empowerment and Equality, co-chair of Girls Not Brides USA, on the Executive Committee of the Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, on the Women’s Human Rights Coordination Group of Amnesty International, USA and as the Senior Policy Manager for Women for Women International.

Spogmay Ahmed |

Deputy Director, Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative

Spogmay Ahmed (she/her) is the Deputy Director for the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative. In this capacity, she helps manage the Global Partner Network for Feminist Foreign Policy and the Coalition for a Feminist Foreign Policy in the United States, and provides overall policy and advocacy expertise for civil society, governments and multilateral organizations. Spogmay serves as the Collaborative’s main liaison to the United Nations, and has served as a Women 7 (W7) Advisor for the G7 Presidencies of Germany in 2022, Japan in 2023, Italy in 2024 and now Canada in 2025. Prior to joining the Collaborative, Spogmay served as Senior Global Policy Advocate at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), handling ICRW's portfolio on feminist foreign policy globally and in the United States. She has provided policy analysis and advocacy leadership in multilateral spaces, including the United Nations, G7 and G20.

Ana Paula Lavalle Arroyo |

Third and Sixth Committee Representative, Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations, Government of Mexico

Ana Paula Lavalle Arroyo (she/her) is a Mexican diplomat with extensive experience in international human rights law and multilateral diplomacy. She currently serves at the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations, where she represents Mexico in the Third Committee (Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs) and the Sixth Committee (Legal Affairs, including Crimes Against Humanity and Terrorism).

Ana Paula has a Master’s degree in Advanced Studies in Public International Law from Leiden University and a Law degree from Universidad Panamericana. She has built a career at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2010, specializing in international human rights policy, diplomacy, and legal affairs, her previous position was Coordinator for International Human Rights Policy.

Ana María Alonso Giganto |

Ambassador-at-Large for Feminist Foreign Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Government of Spain

Ana María Alonso Giganto (she/her) holds a degree in English Philology and has been a member of the Spanish Diplomatic Service since 2007. She has been posted to Spanish embassies in Afghanistan, Egypt, Thailand, Australia, and Counsellor in the Mission of Spain to United Nations. As Ambassador-at-Large for Feminist Foreign Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEC), she is responsible for mainstreaming a gender perspective throughout Spain’s foreign policy and the institutional culture of the ministry itself, as well as within international forums. Academically, she coordinates the MAEC’s course on Feminist Foreign and Development Cooperation Policy and Gender Equality. She is also a member of the Alliance of Feminist Foreign Policy Ambassadors, which includes representatives from various countries and organizations such as NATO, the EEAS, the OSCE and UN Women. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of Casa Asia and of the Global Partner Network of Feminist Foreign Policy Steering Committee.

Yasmine Janah |

Multilateral Policy Advisor on Gender Equality, Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Government of France

Ms. Yasmine Janah is the Multilateral Policy Advisor on Gender Equality at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. She brings extensive expertise in diplomacy, gender equality, and women’s rights, with a strong focus on peacebuilding and conflict resolution. She is a member of the team that drafted France's international feminist foreign policy strategy and organized the 4th Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy last October alongside Ambassador Delphine O. She served as lead author and negotiator of its political declaration.

Prior joining the diplomatic service, Ms. Janah worked extensively in conflict-affected and fragile contexts. She held positions with swisspeace, CARE International in Morocco, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in Cameroon and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in the Republic of Congo.

Jim Monkel |

Global Advocacy Officer, Hivos

Jim Monkel (he/him) is an advocate and policy advisor whose work is grounded in connecting policy, people and practice. Jim works as Global Advocacy Officer at Hivos, for the pan-European initiative of the Walking the Talk Consortium. They work on advocating for inclusive policies and more and better funding for gender equality and feminist organizations in the Majority World, with a focus on centering a gender-lens in the Financing for Development agenda.

Previously, as Youth Ambassador for Sexual & Reproductive Health and Rights, Gender Equality and Bodily Autonomy for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jim connected the lived realities of young people around the world and policymaking spaces. As an independent advisor to the Ministry, he raised the visibility of inclusive comprehensive sexuality education, specifically for young people with disabilities.

Carole Osero-Ageng'o |

Chair, The African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)

Carole is a multilingual feminist human rights lawyer and gender expert with an impressive history of impactful high-level advocacy in national, regional, and global spaces. She is an excellent governance expert and leader and a well acquitted negotiator, people connector, mentor, and policy influencer with broad regional and global experience on ageing and gender, women’s rights, sexual reproductive health, and rights (SRHR), governance, climate change and conflict management. She has led groundbreaking advocacy in Africa and globally including the advocacy leading to the creation of the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and girls. She continues to leverage her networking skills for partnerships and fundraising. She is a renowned regional convener and in May 2024 delivered a successful UN Civil Society Conference in Support of the Summit of the Future. She has led successful Boards in Africa and globally including the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa. In her role as FEMNET Treasurer, she has provided leadership and guidance to the Chair and the Secretariat in the realization of the impressive results. She continues to effectively represent FEMNET In regional and global initiatives. Read more.

Carla Akil |

Assistant to the Director, Director of the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship at the American University of Beirut

Carla Akil (she/her) serves as the Assistant to the Director at the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship at the American University of Beirut (AUB), where she oversees regional projects on gender equality, feminist organizing, and civil society engagement in the SWANA/MENA region. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from AUB and is pursuing a Master’s in Anthropology at AUB. Her research and publications focus on feminist movements and care economies, bridging academic inquiry with activism and policy work.

Emilia Blancarte Jaber |

Consultant, Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative

Emilia Blancarte Jaber (she/her) is a policy and strategy expert specialising in feminist accountability, philanthropic strategy and resource mobilisation. She brings together technical rigour and political acuity to help feminist movements and their institutional partners build the systems, funding and coalitions needed to drive lasting change.

Emilia has extensive experience designing accountability frameworks at the intersection of global advocacy and institutional philanthropy. At Global Fund for Women, she developed the Feminist Accountability Framework, coordinating 35 feminist organisations and major institutional funders in a shared accountability architecture. She brings that same approach to her work with the Ministerial Conferences on Feminist Foreign Policy, where she leads the development of the accountability framework tracking state and institutional commitments across the full policy cycle.

She holds a Master's in International Public Management from Sciences Po Paris, as well as a certificate in Impact Philanthropy Advising and has previously worked in Mexico's federal government, bringing a multilateral and cross-sectoral lens to her practice. She works in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

Sehnaz Kiymaz Bahceci |

Founding Co-Director, Feminist Diplomacy Lab

Sehnaz Kiymaz Bahceci (she/her) is a gender equality expert and activist with over 20 years of experience. Formerly the coordinator of the Women's Major Group, she is currently a board member for Women for Women’s Human Rights. She specializes in international processes and conventions on gender equality, the SDGs, and countering anti-gender movements. Sehnaz provides consultancies on engagement with multilateral processes, multi stakeholder partnerships, and civil society inclusion towards progress on gender equality. She recently co-founded the Feminist Diplomacy Lab, an interactive action platform for gender equality. She holds an MA in Gender and Women’s Studies and degrees in Biology and Sociology/Anthropology.