President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova addressed the opening of the 24-hour virtual Conference of Women in Tech, a global organization aimed at fostering inclusion, diversity and equality of women in STEM professions (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
In her address, Siljanovska-Davkova described the Conference as “an invisible line that connects the world from one time zone to another, from one continent to another”, emphasizing that if once geography determined opportunities, today knowledge and courage transcend borders.
According to her, women are no longer exception in technological processes, but their creators: investigative minds, founders of startups, engineers and visionaries, who build the infrastructure of the future.
She recalled that every progress is the fruit of shared knowledge and solidarity and that when a woman succeeds, she opens space for others, and when she creates, she expands their horizons.
Addressing the young girls, the president said that “the future is not a pre-written code”, but is built with curiosity, creativity and vision.
Finally, she pointed out that technology must be guided by ethics, emotional intelligence and human dignity, adding that true progress is measured not only by innovation, but also by values.
The conference, lasting 24 hours, took place yesterday, connecting thousands of women from different continents, who through knowledge, experience and solidarity are writing a common women’s global story.
The full text of President’s address is below:
Respected Women in Technology,
Dear Women Leaders, Innovators and Visionaries from around the world,
On this extraordinary day and even more extraordinary evening, the conversation does not stop. For twenty-four hours, from one time zone to another, from one continent to another, the energy, voice and vision of women are transmitted. While the sun rises in one place, the night falls in another, while some begin the day, others finish it. But the thought and intention remain awake. This event is a reminder that technology has created a new network of humanity in which women are no longer the periphery, but the center of modern processes.
For twenty-four hours, the world is connected by the invisible line of knowledge, experience and female solidarity. From Sydney to Skopje, from Berlin to Singapore, from New York to Tokyo, women speak, listen, share and write their own common global story.
We live in a time in which technology is uniting the planet faster than ever before. In the past, geography determined opportunities, but today knowledge, courage and vision transcend borders. In this new geography created by technology, there are no centers and peripheries of talent, but ideas waiting to be recognized, supported and realized.
For a long time, many women worked in silence, in environments without parity representation, in institutions where they had to prove themselves twice over in order to be recognized for their work. Today, thanks to their perseverance and vision, women are no longer exceptions in the world of technology. They are research minds, founders of startups, directors of companies, programmers, engineers, designers, visionaries. They are creating the infrastructure of the future: from artificial intelligence to digital platforms that connect people and economies.
This global trend reminds us of an undeniable truth: success in the modern world is not an individual race, but all progress is based on shared knowledge, previous experiences and mutual support. When one woman advances, she makes room for another, and when one creates, she expands the horizons of many others.
Virginia Woolf wrote that a woman needs her own room. Today, women create an endless digital space: algorithms, research and innovations that impact societies. They are no longer guests in the world of technology, but its creators.
To the girls who are taking their first steps in technology today, I would like to tell them that the future is not a pre-written code. It is being created every day through curiosity, creativity and courage, intended to imagine a world that does not yet exist. They should not allow to be told by anyone that their ideas are too big or their ambitions too bold, because every great technological breakthrough begins as someone’s bold idea.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
When these twenty-four hours tick away, only the timeline of the event will end, but the echo of women will still reverberate. For women, values have always been the foundation on which progress is built. Regardless of race, ethnicity or religion, they will always stand on the side of justice, law and human dignity.
The mind is not measured only by IQ, but also by emotional intelligence, ethics and morality. Therefore, let us believe in our own human potential as much as we believe in the technology we create. Let us not overestimate artificial intelligence, because it can only be fruitful when it is connected to the natural and emotional intelligence of man.
Women’s solidarity and support are necessary to connect knowledge with the vision of a different world, a world guided by peace, tolerance, equality and equity, instead of the masculine need for dominance and superiority. Only then will technology be a means to human advancement, and not an end in itself.
Thank you.
