Harmonizing Global Trade and Peace: Pathways to Sustainable Business Models in Conflict Resolution and Development

The credit for the success goes to the organizers of the 10th International Workshop of Daughters of Themis: Network of Women Business Scholars and to all participants who brought their expertise and passion to the table.

This year’s theme, ‘Harmonizing Global Trade and Peace: Pathways to Sustainable Business Models in Conflict Resolution and Development’, reflected the urgency of addressing global challenges through feminist perspectives. Eight scholars from diverse academic fields and cultural backgrounds engaged in discussions on topics such as multistakeholder partnerships in conflict zones, gender and climate financing, cooperative models for equity, and trade agreements as tools for peacebuilding.

The workshop began with a networking lunch on 3 June, fostering connections that enriched subsequent sessions. Over the next three days, participants presented papers grouped thematically, with commentators offering constructive and personalized feedback—an approach that continues to distinguish Themis workshops from traditional academic formats.

Highlights included:

• Peacebuilding through multistakeholder sustainability partnerships in conflict-affected areas (Daria Nagaivska)
• Bridging North and South: Sustainable business models for food loss prevention in peacebuilding (María Jesús Muñoz Torres)
• Re-establishing cooperatives as a force for equity (Elín Jónsdóttir)
• Proactive contract theory for business development in conflict areas (Roberta Mourão Donato)
• Gender and climate financing in non-self-governing territories: The case of Western Sahara (Katheryne Aldana Villalobos)
• Venezuelan refugee and migrant women in Brazil: Can trade agreements foster stability and peace? (Janaína Heloísa Telles de Lima)

Each day concluded with cultural experiences, from an excursion to Ioulida to dinners at local tavernas.

Voices from the Workshop

Participants described the event as transformative. They reflected on the unique atmosphere of trust and collaboration, emphasizing how the workshop fostered both intellectual rigor and genuine solidarity.

As the group departed Kea, they carried forward not only new research insights but also a renewed commitment to feminist scholarship that bridges theory and practice for a more peaceful and sustainable world.