Bangalore, Feb 2 (IANS) Women leaders from India and over 50 other countries are gathering here Friday to discuss role of technology in empowering women, particularly in developing nations.

The three-day conference titled “Women and Technology” is being organised by the Art of Living (AoL) International Centre, founded by spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

This is the fifth International Women’s Conference (IWC) hosted by AoL. Parliamentarians, film makers, corporate executives and social activists from India, Argentina, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Holland, Italy, Ireland, Bulgaria, Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Bangladesh, Singapore and Japan will attend the conference, a statement from the AoL said Thursday.

Union minister of state for human resource development Daggubati Purandeswari, first Woman presidential candidate of Egypt Bothaina Kamel, Israeli parliamentarian Ronit Tirosh, and Jordanian filmmaker Al Wajd Al Fayez are some of the leading personalities attending the conference, it said.

“The conference will focus on the impact of technology on women and society, the connection between spirituality and technology, raising awareness on the role of yoga and meditation in relieving stress, the opportunity to use technology as a tool to empower women in the developing world and technology serving as a connecting link between women belonging to different social strata,” the statement said.

“The purpose of this conference is to raise awareness on the multi-dimensional impact of technology on women. The new age woman is on par with men in creating new technology as well as in using the same,” said IWC chairperson Bhanumathi Narasimhan.

The conference will showcase the rich heritage of various cultures by both Indian as well as international artists.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will preside over the inaugural function, the AoL statement said.