The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), together with the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO), invites proposals for side events to take place during the Beijing+30 Regional Review Meeting scheduled for 21-22 October 2024.

Member States, United Nations entities, international organizations, and other interested stakeholders should submit side event proposals via the following link at their earliest convenience, and no later than 10 August 2024.

All proposals received will be reviewed by UNECE and UN Women, who will respond to the proposed event organizers by 1 September 2024. As slots are limited, priority will be given to events organized by more than one Member State and multiple organizations (more than three).

Side events (in-person) will be scheduled during the 8:45– 9:45 am and 12:00–13:15 time slots.

UNECE facilities can host a maximum of four in-person events with space for 50 participants each. Organizers intending to facilitate virtual participation will need to generate their own links. Unfortunately, neither translation services nor online support will be provided for in-person side events in 2024.

Side events are open to all Conference participants.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The proposed side events should support the objectives of the Economic Commission for Europe Beijing+30 Regional Review Meeting (see ‘Background’ section below). They are expected to complement the inter-governmental meeting by taking stock of progress, addressing remaining and emerging challenges, and providing original perspectives on gender equality and women’s empowerment issues in the UNECE region.

Proposed side events will be selected according to the following criteria:

• Relevance: Side events should be relevant to the 12 critical areas of concern in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Other emerging thematic issues will also be considered. Successful side event proposals will ensure the sharing of good practices from a variety of stakeholders and identify partnership opportunities and accelerated action at multiple levels.
• Multistakeholder participation: Successful side event proposals will ensure inclusion and diversity (parti-cularly geographical, regional, and gender balan-ces) and include a mix of stakeholders, including governments; civil society; academia; the private sector; United Nations; regional, inter-governmental, or other multilateral organizations; etc.
• Priority will be accorded to side events organized by more than one Member State and multiple organiza-tions (more than three).
• Interactive and inclusive session design: Successful side event proposals will design the events to be as interac-tive as possible, including by allocating sufficient time for interaction with the audience.
• Innovation: Side events that present innovative designs in terms of session format, content and/ or dialogue setup will be favorably considered.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF CO-ORGANIZERS

• One of the co-organizers of the proposed side event should be designated as the lead organizer and com-munications focal point.
• Organizers are responsible for all arrangements for the side events (generation and management of virtual par-ticipation link, confirmation of logistics arrangements, registration of speakers, broad-based participation, event marketing, etc.).
• The Conference organizers will provide a room, screen, Wi-Fi, and basic technical assistance. All other costs related to the side event will be borne by the side-event organizers.
• Once side events are confirmed, the Conference orga-nizers will discuss details of the room set-up and equip-ment and other organizational aspects with the side event organizers and request them to provide a concept note and flyer to be posted on the Conference website.

The lead side event co-organizer should prepare a summary of outcomes of 2 to 5 pages and submit it to the Conference organizers by 10 November 2024. A template will be prepared to ensure uniform reporting.

BACKGROUND

UNECE, in collaboration with UN Women ECARO, will organize the Economic Commission for Europe Beijing+30 Regional Review Meeting on 21 – 22 October 2024 in Geneva.

The conference is expected to reinvigorate political commitment to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in the UNECE region and build regional consensus on priority actions to accelerate the implementation of commitments made in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

The conference will act as a platform for sharing knowledge and information on progress made, gaps, and challenges encountered in realizing gender equality and the rights of women and girls in the region. The outcome will serve as the region’s input to the deliberations at the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2025. The conference will bring together government officials including ministers, senior officials and representatives from relevant ministries, community-based organi-zations, civil society organizations, youth organizations, academia, the private sector, United Nations entities, independent experts and other relevant stakeholders from across the ECE region.

The objectives of the conference are:

• To assess progress in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in the ECE region over the past five years;
• Review current and emerging challenges, good practices, lessons learned, and priority actions required to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and its contribution towards the full realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
• Provide a platform for Member States and stake-holders to explore policy options and strategies, including innovative approaches and good practices, toward realizing gender equality and the empowerment of women;
• Build regional consensus on priority actions to accelerate the implementation of commitments made in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action;
• Consolidate regional inputs to the sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which will focus on the review and appraisal of the imple-mentation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly.

CONTACT AND INFORMATION

For communication with UNECE, please contact [email protected] with a copy to [email protected].
Additional information is available on the UNECE and UN Women dedicated websites for the Beijing Platform for Action and the Beijing+30 Regional Review Meeting.