“Dignity and respect: women as change makers in the private space” Thursday, 3. May 2018, 10:00am

Dr. Edit Schlaffer, social scientist and founder of Women without Borders, an international NGO headquartered Vienna, Austria. She started Women without Borders in 2001 to strengthen women’s capabilities through education, collaboration and self-confidence: key tools for establishing a female power base in countries targeted by violent extremism.

In 2008 she launched the Sisters Against Violent Extremism (SAVE) campaign, focusing Women without Borders’ efforts to the security arena, the first global women led counter radicalization platform.

She is leading Women without Borders’ central project, the MothersSchools: Parenting for Peace! Model, which empowers and equips mothers to recognize and respond to early warning signs of radicalization in their adolescents. The MotherSchools have been piloted in 12 countries including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Indonesia, India/Kashmir, Jordan, Macedonia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tajikistan, UK and Zanzibar, in partnership with local NGOs.

In recognition of this innovative work, Schlaffer received numerous awards including the
2018 Reader’s Digest European of the Year award, the 2016 State Prize of the Republic of Austria for Lifelong Learning, and the 2015 Soroptimist International of Europe Peace Prize.
A sought-after contributor to international conferences and diverse media outlets, Schlaffer advocates for the importance of an integrated prevention approach to counter-radicalization, embedded in civil society. She is a regular speaker, presenting to platforms such as TED talks, Washington, Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, Women in the World, New York and Davos.