ABU DHABI, UAE—Last spring, Forbes brought multiple generations of trailblazing women to Abu Dhabi for the inaugural 30/50 Summit—scoring a spot on BizBash's 2022 list of the year's most innovative meetings. And from March 7-10, 2023, the team went even bigger, returning to Abu Dhabi for the second edition of the 30/50 Summit, which spanned four days and hosted 600 women from more than 50 countries.
Bringing together honorees from both the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and the newer Forbes 50 Over 50 list, the gathering aimed to forge cross-generational bonds through panels, mentorship opportunities, cultural immersion, and more. This year’s lineup included former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, journalist and activist Gloria Steinem, tennis icon Billie Jean King, ballet dancer Misty Copeland, actress Catherine O'Hara, and many more, along with summit chair Mika Brzezinski and vice chair Huma Abedin. 
“By bringing together women from the Forbes 30 Under 30 community, Forbes 50 Over 50 community, and women who have been at the forefront of women’s equality for decades, we were able to spark inspiration among our attendees—and the world—that anything is possible if you set your mind to it,” said Bonanno.Photo: Colin Baldwin for Forbes
“Our goal with this Summit and franchise is to create cross-generational mentorship opportunities so that women can support each other in their own professional and personal lives,” said Leann Bonanno, senior vice president of ForbesLive & Marketing, of the guest list and programming. “As our teams curated the program and agenda, we were focused on bringing together a diverse group of women so that each session was truly unique for our audience.”
Mentorship was a huge focus of the 2023 event, based on feedback from 2022 attendees who wanted more time to network. “We introduced an event and networking app, Brella, last year and worked with them over the course of the past year to improve the user experience with a goal of getting all attendees comfortable with using the app,” noted Julieanna Stipek, executive director of ForbesLive, adding that there was a 101% year-over-year increase in app users at the summit.
"We had a star-studded lineup of speakers throughout our programming on March 8 and 9," said Delisha Fields, executive director of ForbesLive. "We also hosted some amazing experiences in honor of International Women’s Day, including 'An Iconic Conversation On Equality,' moderated by Mika Brzezinski." The panel featured Hillary Clinton Clinton, Olena Zelenska, Billie Jean King, and Gloria Steinem.Photo: Colin Baldwin for Forbes
While building their profiles in the app, attendees could select a series of Forbes-vetted networking categories they were interested in, and then were matched with their top networking picks based on the categories they selected. “One of our attendees told us she ‘met her person’ when the app matched her with a female executive in the manufacturing industry, the exact kind of mentor she’d be searching for in a typically male-dominated field,” remembered Stipek.
Forbes hosted networking meetups prior to the event’s opening gala kick-off, where staffers gave tutorials on navigating and troubleshooting on the Brella app. There was also a mentorship and networking hub, where attendees had one-on-one meetings with connections they’d made on the platform. “In the four hours that the hub was open, there were nearly 300 meetings that took place between attendees,” noted Stipek. 
Also on International Women’s Day, Forbes hosted an awards gala at Louvre Abu Dhabi that honored Zelenska, King, and Steinem.Photo: Colin Baldwin for Forbes
Opportunities for connection didn't end there as the event also hosted "idea forums"—small networking circles around the event venue hosted by various 30 Under 30 and 50 Over 50 honorees. There were three 45-minute cycles that attendees could participate in, with topics focused on entrepreneurship, impact, creative economy, corporate leadership, and money and investing.
“By integrating more structure around these networking moments, we empowered attendees with a time, place, and purpose behind networking,” explained Stipek. “Instead of awkwardly approaching other attendees on their own, attendees had tools to break away from baseline introductions and have conversations that fueled lasting connections.”
The focus on mentorship extended to a day of service, when Forbes partnered with the local Cranleigh high school to host a day rooted in female empowerment. The gathering began with a fireside chat and panel discussion featuring female founders, before students were split into breakout groups with 30/50 Summit attendees to discuss topics surrounding innovation, wisdom, leadership, and resilience.
“Students and attendees were so engaged that we had a hard time getting the students on their buses home to leave school for the day!” said Stipek. “After the breakout sessions, 30/50 attendees were invited to a lunch where they wrote ‘Letters of Empowerment’ to the future female leaders they had spent the afternoon with. These letters will be read aloud to the students during assembly, and then put on display as artwork in the school.” 
"To conclude our monumental event, our attendees partied the night away at a desert party at Al Wathba," said Fields. A pop-up souk highlighted local craftspeople and artists, who sold their goods and educated guests about their work.Photo: Colin Baldwin for Forbes
Other highlights of the summit included an opening night gala and private light show at the Qasar Al Watan presidential palace, an International Women’s Day awards gala at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and a closing party in the Al Wathba desert. “We curated the desert experience with local vendor products, photo moments, live entertainment, and experiential activities including camel photos and henna tattoos,” said Delisha Fields, executive director of ForbesLive, of the closing party.
Overall, the team is excited about the momentum they built in the event’s second year. “We hosted once-in-a-lifetime experiences that honored women in their career journeys, [and] curated relatable programming that gave our attendees the opportunity to connect with industry icons and tastemakers in a personal way," summed up Fields, adding: “Based on last year’s event, we learned that women of all ages and backgrounds are eager to connect and innovate with one another. In 2023, we elevated our experience to ensure every woman felt celebrated, connected, and able to converse in authentic ways."
The closing party included tanoura dancers, a traditional folkloric dance common in Islamic countries that includes performers spinning continuously in weighted skirts. Later, guests could try out the skirts themselves.Photo: Colin Baldwin for Forbes
