Politics, parity, power: towards a #NextGen gender equality in the Balkans and Eastern Europe
29 October, 9:00-9:50, room XXII, Palais des Nations
Women are slowly gaining ground in electoral politics in the Balkans and Eastern Europe, although their presence in parliament is still below 25 percent. The event featured women political leaders, officials and activists in a strategic dialogue with EU counterparts on countering gender backlash trends and accelerating gender equality in decision-making.
(Organizers: Women’s Political Network, Montenegro; Swedish Gender Equality Agency; Administration of the Government of Georgia; Gender Caucus of the Parliament of Ukraine; Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Armenia; UNDP. Co-organizer: Gender Centre NGO, Moldova)
Effective gender mainstreaming methods and tools: the way to speed up the pace towards gender equality
29 October, 9:00-9:50, room XXVII, Palais des Nations
This side event explored what has been learned about gender mainstreaming in the European context: country practices and availability of tools developed for its application in specific contexts. There was a specific focus on gender budgeting given its potential to accelerate gender transformation and gender mainstreaming in practice.
(Organizers: European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE); Ministry of Employment, Sweden; Institute for the Equality of Women and Men, Belgium; Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality, Portugal)
The Istanbul Convention in practice: holistic care for victims of sexual violence
29 October, 13:30-14:45, room XXIV, Palais des Nations
This side event aimed to share lessons learned and identify good practices in the implementation of the Istanbul Convention, with a specific focus on integrated support services for victims, such as the Belgian Sexual Assault Care Centre Model.
(Organizers: Council of Europe and the International Council of Women; Co-sponsors: Permanent Mission of Canada to the UN in Geneva, French Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia and NGO/CSW Geneva)
29 October, 13:30-14:45, room XXIII, Palais des Nations
This side event aimed to trigger an insightful discussion among UNECE member States on good practices to promote gender equality in old age. The side event initiated a collective thinking process on how to mainstream gender equality in our social systems which need to adapt to rapidly ageing societies.
(Organizers: France, Germany, Italy, UNECE Working Group on Ageing, European Commission)
Beyond Beijing+25 in the EU: Sustainable and inclusive growth through the lens of women’s empowerment
29 October, 13:30-14:45, room XXV, Palais des Nations
The objective of this event was to present and discuss findings from the EU Beijing+25 review, focusing on key gender equality challenges facing the EU and its Member States and the ways to address these through policy action.
(Organizers: European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE); Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland, and High Council for Gender Equality, France)
Rural women entrepreneurs as agents of change
30 October, 9:00-9:50, room XXVII, Palais des Nations
Rural women in Eastern Europe and Central Asia contribute greatly to the economy through paid and unpaid work, but benefit the least. The Women Resource Centres of Azerbaijan have had transformative impacts on women’s lives by developing women’s skills and giving them market access. The event featured women entrepreneurs from Azerbaijan, Central Asia and Turkey in a conversation on what has worked and what more can be done to promote rural women’s economic independence.
(Organizers: State Committee for Women, Children and Family, Azerbaijan; FAO; UNDP and UN Women, Partners: NGO ‘Support to Sabirabad Women’s Social Development’, Azerbaijan; Central Asian Association to Support Artisans)
30 October, 9:00-9:50, room XXII, Palais des Nations
This discussion focused on women’s social and cultural roles as creators and objects of art, and the change in perception of women’s contribution to and participation in arts. Concrete examples from the Ukrainian context illustrated the discussion.
(Organizers: Ukrainian Institute and UN Women Ukraine)
Generation Equality Forum - Towards a Global Compact for Equality (Flyer in French)
30 October, 13:30-14:45, room XXII, Palais des Nations
This side event aimed to prepare for the Generation Equality Forum, a global gathering for gender equality with the leadership and partnership of civil society. Building on the Beijing+25 national and regional reviews and CSW64, the Forum (convened by UN Women and co-chaired by France and Mexico) will kick-off in Mexico-City on 7-8 May 2020 and culminate in Paris on 7-10 July 2020.
(Organizers: France and UN Women)
Defend Women Human Rights Defenders – cooperation for strengthening national Beijing+25 commitments
30 October, 13:30-14:45, room XXVII, Palais des Nations
The side event shed light on the latest research and evidence on increasing shrinking space, pushing-back in society against women’s human rights and growing violence against women human rights defenders in the UNECE region. Testimonies from women’s rights defenders were heard and UNECE member States were invited to discuss actions to address risks of women rights violations and violence against Women Human Rights Defenders.
(Organizers: Netherlands, Women’s Major Group, WECF International, Wo=Men, WIDE+, UN Women)
Ending Violence against Women and Girls: Prevalence, Proposals and Partnerships
30 October, 13:30-14:45, room XXV, Palais des Nations
Freedom from violence is a basic human right, yet millions of women suffer from domestic and sexual violence, forced marriage, honour crimes, trafficking and, increasingly, violence facilitated by technology. Panelists discussed the prevalence of VAWG and solutions to prevent and eliminate the practice, including the central role of the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention and progress and challenges in its implementation.
(Organizers: France, Council of Europe and the International Council of Women; Co-sponsors: Permanent Mission of Canada to the UN in Geneva, UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, and NGO/CSW Geneva)
Kindly note that all morning side events will only start at 9:00am due to the UN's liquidity crisis.
