On October 24, The German Marshall Fund of the United States hosted a delegation of women from the Serbian-American Women's Leadership Network for a discussion on Serbia and the role of women in positions of leadership. The delegation of fourteen women from Serbian political, private, and NGO industries came to GMF on a seven-day, USAID-organized visit to the United States. Ivan Vejvoda, Vice President of Programs and Director of the Balkan Trust for Democracy introduced GMF and its work as a foreign policy foundation in Washington, DC.

The discussion focused on the shared values between GMF and the Serbian-American Women’s Leadership Network, whose core mission and beliefs strive to create a dialogue on women as leaders and mentors in the political landscape in both Serbia and the United States. Senior Transatlantic Fellow Dymphna van der Lans spoke on behalf of the Climate and Energy Program by expressing the need to create an open, honest, and stimulating dialogue on how to represent women as industry leaders. She said in order to promote growth and encourage equal representation in Serbia it is important to introduce a shift in the debate on women and the power structure that exists.

Ultimately, the women involved in the discussion expressed interest in further cooperation between the Network and GMF to promote advancements Serbia has made toward gender equality.