The UfM's biennial High-Level Conference on Women for the Mediterranean, co-organised in 2024 with the Office of the Commissioner for Gender Equality of Cyprus, took place on 30-31 May in Cyprus. 120 public officials and private sector, institutional, and civil society representatives as well as journalists convened to deliberate on concrete measures to effectively combat gender inequality in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Discussions focused on the central themes of the 2022 UfM Ministerial Declaration on Strengthening the Role of Women in Society: women’s economic empowerment, gender and climate change, and violence against women and girls. These sessions helped guide actions to safeguard women’s rights, thereby operationalising the declaration’s 2024-2025 Roadmap for Implementation.

DG NEAR presented the two recently launched EU-funded regional projects in support to women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion in the Southern Neighbourhood, partnering with the OECD and COSPE.