Barcelona, 3 March 2014. Mandated by the Third Union for the Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Strengthening the Role of Women in the Society (Paris, 11 September 2013) and with the aim to encourage the implementation of projects and initiatives in the field, the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean will organise a project-oriented international conference entitled “Women’s Socio-Economic Empowerment: Projects for Progress” on 26-27 March 2014, at its headquarters in Barcelona.
The major goal of the conference is to create a strong momentum for the women socio-economic empowerment in the region, by interlinking political commitments provided by the Paris Ministerial Declaration and major development initiatives and projects on the ground. More specifically, the conference will aim to:
· Identify priority initiatives, programmes and funding in the field of socio-economic empowerment of women in the region.
· Help develop stronger synergies and coherence among key stakeholders in the Euro-Mediterranean region, and bring institutional and financial support for specific projects and initiatives advancing women’s socio-economic empowerment.
· Encourage the submission of regional project proposals to the UfM Secretariat.
This two-day international multi-stakeholder conference will gather some 200 participants, including governmental representatives, international development agencies, international organisations dealing with women’s empowerment and gender equality, private sector and civil society representatives, as well as promoters of current and potential regional cooperation projects promoted by the Union for the Mediterranean.