This is ONE conference every woman in the capital should attend. Over 4,000 people attended last year! Visit Capitalwoman 2005 and pick up tour FREE copy of this year’ s International Women’s Month Magazine, produced by LIVE Listings. There’s also loads of stalls that will be of interest.

The highlight of this year’s Capitalwoman conference will be a keynote speech by Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Finance Minister of Nigeria.  Dr Okonjo-Iweala is one of only two female Finance Ministers in the world, the equivalent of the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, and controls the finances of a nation of over 130 million people in a country which is almost the size of Western Europe. 

In her current post Dr Okonjo-Iweala has re-negotiated Nigeria’s debt burden with the World Bank and is the leader of Nigeria’s acclaimed new Economic Team, responsible for implementing dramatic economic and social reforms for Nigeria. The reforms are already combating corruption, improving transparency, and turning the economy around.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala was a previous Economic Adviser to the Nigerian President as well as having over 20 year’s experience with the World Bank including Vice President and Corporate Secretary of the World Bank Group.  She was the recipient of the Financial Times “The Banker Magazine” African and Middle East Finance Minister of the Year 2005; Time Magazine International “European Hero of the Year Award”, 2004.

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, said: “I'm pleased to welcome Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to London.  I’m honoured and delighted on behalf of all Londoners, particularly our African communities in London, that Dr Okonjo-Iweala is speaking at this year’s conference.  As a wealthy nation we have a key role to play in the drive to eradicate poverty and inequality around the world.”

Other high profile speakers include Tessa Jowell, Minister for Culture, Media and Sport and double Athens Olympic gold medal winner Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, who will speak alongside the Mayor in the opening plenary.

• The Olympic Bid: a bright future for London
• Women on Board: towards safer, more accessible transport
• Strength in Diversity: standing together against racism
• Sexism in the city? - women in London's economy
• Changing the Climate: women taking up the environmental challenge
• A Lesson for Schools: what women want from education
• A surgery about domestic violence which will provide practical advice and help
• An LDA sponsored Marketplace which will provide expert advice on all aspects of setting up and running a business.

• Ken Livingstone – Mayor of London
• Nicky Gavron - Deputy Mayor of London
• Diane Abbott - MP for Hackney
• Yasmin Qureshi - Mayor’s Human Rights Adviser
• Fiona Millar - Journalist
• Alison Nimmo - Deputy Head of Culture 2012
• Hilary Carty - Head of Planning 2012
• Milena Buyum – National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR)
• Norah Casey – Former Editor Irish Post, Publisher

EVENT: Capitalwoman 2005
DATE: 5 March 2005
TIME: 10am – 5.15pm (Registration from 9am)
VENUE: Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1