Former First Lady and President of the 31st December Women’s Movement, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings is in Cairo, Egypt to participate in the African Dialogue Policy Forum on Women, Peace and Security taking place from November 23 to 25. The Forum is being held under the auspices of the Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement, an international policy think tank established by the Egyptian First Lady to promote women as partners in the defence and maintenance of peace and justice. In a statement before she travelled to Cairo, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings said the conference is coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, the AU Year of Peace, the Launching of the African Decade for Women and the International Day of Ending Violence Against Women. “That gives the Forum additional significance as it is an opportunity to do a proper review of the successes and failures of the process and look forward to a more positive future,” Nana Konadu said. The Forum will take stock of what is happening in Africa in the area of peace, security and women’s protection. It will also explore the root causes of conflicts in Africa as well strategies, instruments and mechanisms used to mediate these conflicts. Results and challenges related to women’s participation in and contribution to these processes would also be identified. Leading speakers include Nana Konadu, Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping and Mrs. Michelle Bachelet, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Women. Visit Former President Rawlings’ blog site - http://jjrawlings.wordpress.com/