UfM High-Level Conference, 16-20 November 2020
INTERPRETATION: All sessions are available in English, French, Arabic, Spanish and International Sign.
The 2020 edition
Coinciding with the 25th Anniversary of the Barcelona Process adopted in 1995, and the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action, the Women4Mediterranean Conference this year is intended to serve as a milestone to appraise and take stock of what has been achieved over the past 25 years, to learn from what has worked and to further identify areas that still require improvement. While laying the foundations for the coming years towards closing the gender gap in the region in the current context, the Conference seeks to further analyze the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women and girls and to highlight the key role played by women in addressing the pandemic. It also aims to identify what is needed to better value the role of women and foster women’s participation in policy and decision-making to address the pandemic.
The Conference will be as well the appropriate occasion to launch the UfM Institutional Ministerial follow-up mechanism and its indicators, adopted this year by the UfM Member States, that will allow to monitor and measure for the coming years gender equality progress in the region and will provide policy and action-oriented recommendations to close the gender gap.
Download the Conference Infokit here.
Conference Themes
Challenge Lab
With the financial support of:
Media Partners:
In collaboration with:
The speakers
EU Commissioner for Equality
Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family, Italy
General Secretary, BUSINESSMED
Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean.
Manager of the Center for Mediterranean Integration
Minister of Justice and Public Order, Republic of Cyprus
Programme Management Specialist, UN Women Regional Office for Arab States
Junior Minister for Equality and Reforms, Malta
Technical Officer, Gender and Human Rights, WHO Regional Office for Europe
Mayor for Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, Turkey
President of Egypt’s National Council for Women
Secretary of State for Gender Equality and Against Gender-based Violence, Spain
Former President of Malta
Founder & Chairman, Arab International Women’s Forum
President of ASCAME
Secretary General of Young Professionals Network, Governing Board of RYCO
President, Make Mothers Matter
State Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Kingdom of Norway
Head of Unit at the European Commission, Directorate General - DEVCO C1
Deputy Regional Director for UN Women in the Arab States
Director, Partnerships and UN Collaboration, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
Founding director of Corporate Governance Forum of Turkey at Sabancı University
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Jordan
Secretary for Foreign Action and the European Union, Government of Catalonia
President of the National Commission for Lebanese Women
Associate Professor of Social Policy, Panteion University, Greece
Executive Director of the Catalan Women's Institute, Government of Catalonia
General Secretary of the Arab Women Organization, Jordan
Deputy Mayor, 2030 Agenda, the Digital Transition and International Relations, Barcelona City Council
Project Manager, Union of Women's Action, Morocco
Advisor for Feminism and LGTBI, Barcelona City Council
Communications and Publications Manager, Gender Policy and Women Empowerment focal, CIHEAM
Director General of Promotion and Innovation of Agri-Food, Government of Aragon
Administrator, CIHEAM Bari
Minister of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fisheries, Tunisia
Social Entrepreneur and Activist for Regenerative Economy
Secretary General, International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM)
Vice-Director, EGD-CSIC & Associated Researcher, CEIGRAM
Project coordinator, Cooperation Office, CIHEAM BARI
Head of Research Chair Women & Economic Renewal, Grenoble Management School
OECD Development Centre
Secretary General of Young Professionals Network
Founder of Dasry Stérile
MD MPH Charité University Hospital Department of Gynaecology, Germany.
Chief Executive Officer at Wafacash
UNDP Deputy Director, Regional Bureau for Arab States
Deputy Director, CEED Morocco
Minister of State for the Presidency, Portugal
Agenda
Day 1: 16 November
10:00-13:00 Regional Dialogue on Women Empowerment (by invitation only)
Meeting of UfM countries officials and the main regional partners to follow-up the implementation of the UfM Ministerial declaration on strengthening the role of women in society.
The objective will be to present the adopted follow-up indicators, launch the reporting exercise with UfM countries based on the 6 selected indicators and continue the discussion with countries regarding gender data and statistics.
15:00-16:15 Conference Official Opening (High level event launch)
Welcome address from high-level representatives on promoting gender equality in the context of COVID-19 Pandemic.
Day 2: 17 November
10:00-11:30 Plenary session: Women on the frontline of Covid-19
- Fatma Şahin, Mayor of Gaziantep, Turkey
- Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani, Founder & Chairman, Arab International Women’s Forum
- Anne Claire de Liedekerke, President, Make Mothers Matter
- Mary Kawar, Former Minister for Planning and International Cooperation, Jordan
- Karen L. Kautzman Bjøro, Board Member, International Council of Nurses, Norway
- Moderator: Paz Arancibia, International Expert and Consultant
14:00-15:30 Side Event: Building back better: Through a gender equitable leadership in the global health workforce
Day 3: 18 November
10:00-13:00 Side Event: Building equal, safe, and inclusive post-COVID-19 societies for women and girls: How can Mediterranean regions and cities take the lead?
SESSION 1: Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on women. Local and Regional responses. (10:00-11:30)
SESSION 2: Women’s Leadership in Mediterranean Cities and Regions: addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. In collaboration with Smart City Live 2020, this session will also be live streamed on the SC Live platform. (11.30-12.15)
SESSION 3: The future of gender equality in the Euro-Mediterranean region (12:15-13:00)
14:30-15:00 Challenge Lab. Challenge 1: What measures and direct support are needed to effectively address the economic impact of COVID-19 on women and girls?
15:00-16:00 Women Entrepreneurs Forum – A project perspective on challenges of women entrepreneurs navigating the COVID-19 crisis
16:00-17:00 Women Entrepreneurs Forum – Women Empowerment: A story of a Moroccan Leader
Day 4: 19 November
09:30-10:00 Challenge Lab. Challenge 2: How to prevent and address violence against women in the context of a crisis?
10:00-11:30 Plenary session: Preventing gender-based violence in times of crisis
- Claudine Aoun Roukoz, President of National Commission for Lebanese Women
- Boriana Jönsson, Executive Director of Euromed Feminist Initiative
- Dr. Nino Berdzuli, Director, Division of Country Health Programmes, WHO Regional Office for Europe
- Marcella Pirrone, President, Women Against Violence Network Europe
- Janneke van der Graaff-Kukler, Deputy Regional Director for the Arab States, UN Women
- Souad Abderrahim, Mayor of Tunis
- Melsa Ararat, Founding Director, Corporate Governance Forum of Turkey, Sabancı Business School, İstanbul
- Moderator: Aurélie Salvaire, Author and social entrepreneur, Founder of Shiftbalance
14:00-17:00 Side Event: Mainstreaming gender in recovery responses of agri-food sectors and rural areas
Session 1: Gender Impacts and Responses to protect and promote the role of rural women during the COVID-19 pandemic (14:00-15:45)
Session 2: Strengthening resilience of rural women through education, training and research (15:45-17:00)
Day 5: 20 November
10:00-11:30 The role of youth in combatting gender stereotypes in the audiovisual sector
Session 1: Understanding Gender Stereotypes and their impact on our societies (10:00-10:30)
Session 2: The portrayal of women in the audio-visual media and the messages transmitted to society at large – from a professional and or personal perspective (10:30-11:00)
Session 3: The need to enhance the media’s potential for women’s empowerment in the audio-visual sector – Identifying barriers and proposing recommendations. (11:00-11:30)
12:00-13:00 Closing session
Conclusions, wrap-up and closing remarks
Pre-Conference Discussions
Discussions focused on some topics of the conference. The objective is to stimulate the discussion about the subject and to allow participants to present their good practices and to provide recommendations that will be further discussed during the dedicated session.
Networking Space
People and organizations engaged in advancing progress for women and girls can connect in this informal space, have discussions and exchange ideas, building partnerships and collaborations, news on latest projects and research.
Exhibition Space
An online space where organizations and participants can showcase their work, projects, good practices and innovative ideas to advance gender equality agenda in the region, with a focus on the Conference topics.
Publications Corner
A dedicated space will showcase the latest research and publications on gender equality and women’s empowerment from participating organizations.
Please register below to join the conference!
Media Contact
Press contact
Marine Moulin
+34 935 214 137
+34 691 519 634
Media are invited to attend the event. Interviews during and after the conference with key speakers, experts and decision-makers are possible.
If you need additional information please contact the UfM Secretariat upstream: [email protected]
Event Contact
Social & Civil Affairs Division
For any enquiries, please contact us via email at [email protected].
