Harpa Hosts #MeToo Conference In Reykjavik Today

Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir has officially opened the #MeToo conference being held at Harpa today, Vísir reports, wherein people from many different facets of the movement will be coming together.

The conference begins at 14:30 and will continue over the next two days. Two years have passed since the #MeToo movement kicked off, and Iceland has been amongst the many countries in the world to tackle the issues it has raised.

Halla Gunnarsdóttir, the government advisor on equality issues and one of the organisers of this conference, said, “We saw that the #MeToo movement revealed a great deal of gender discrimination, harassment and violence in Iceland, as in all Nordic countries. We wanted to take that reality and put it before the international community. To examine the themes that arise in connection to #MeToo, both in Iceland and elsewhere.”

Over 800 people have registered for the conference, which will have speakers and discussions examining a number of issues related to the movement, such as gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual violence. However, the key draw for this conference is none other than famed author, activist and academic Angela Davis (seen above).

“We also have many other well-known lectors on board, such as Roxane Gay, Liz Kelly, Marai Larasi and Cynthia Enloe, as well as many Icelandic, Nordic and international activists; people who have been organising at the grassroots who, while maybe not household names, have put tremendous work into the movement,” Halla says. “Our thinking was that if we bring all these different people together, from different points of view within the movement, something amazing could happen.”

Below, you can watch Angela Davis address the Women’s March in Washington, DC.