Eurasian Women’s Forum in St. Petersburg to discuss women’s role in politics, economy

ST. PETERSBURG, September 24. /TASS/. The Eurasian Women’s Forum opens in Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg on Thursday. It will be attended by lawmakers and representatives of executive authorities, public organizations business and scientific communities, and authoritative figures of the international women’s movement from 85 world nations. "The forum will focus on issues of social well-being and sustainable development, international cooperation for mutual trust and progress, measures to expand opportunities for women’s participation in the changing economies, politics, and social integration of society," the forum’s press service said. Discussions and Participants The forum’s organizing committee is led by Valentina Matviyevko, the speaker of the upper house of Russian parliament, the Federation Council, and the chairperson of the Council of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). She will open the forum’s plenary session on Women in Today’s World: New Horizons of Cooperation. The session will proceed with four panel discussion, namely Women and Power: World’s Agenda of Sustainable Development; Women and the Evolving Economy. New Opportunities and Challenges; Role of Women in Building a Global Strategy for Health; and Women-led Initiatives in Today’s World: Charity and Humanitarian Outreach. Moderators will include Hermine Naghdalyan, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia; Hannele Pokka, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment, Republic of Finland; Hijran Huseynova, Chair of State Committee on Family, Women and Children Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan; Flavia Bustreo, World Health Organization, Assistant Director-General; Hairiniso Yusufi, Deputy Speaker, Majlisi namoyandagon of Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan. Among the keynote speakers will be Deputy Director-General of the International Labor Organization Sandra Polaski, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO Nada Al-Nashif, Speaker of the National Assembly, Parliament of Botswana Gladys Kokorwe, and others. The biggest delegations to the forum are expected from Vietnam, China, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Armenia, Galina Karelov, a deputy speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, said earlier. In her words, representatives from 24 European states had been accredited to take part in the forum, despite the current political strains. Final Document Active participation and high representation of women at the forum enhances its political and social significance and strengthens confidence that it will justify expectations pinned on it, Valentina Matviyenko said ahead of the forum. "We hope the first Eurasian Women’s Forum will grow into a good tradition, will become major instrument of women’s influence on the global agenda," she said. She also said the forum was expected to yield a final document. "It will be sent to heads of state and government, parliament speakers and leaders of public organizations," she noted. "Its key message is to encourage more active participation of women in political processes, in economic activities and in traditional areas of social activity," said Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the Federation Council’s international committee. Read more