|
Sharjah is set to host the first Women’s Economic Empowerment Global Summit, WEEGS, one of the most significant new platforms to highlight the challenges and opportunities of fully integrating women’s contributions into regional and global economies.
The two-day event, organised by the NAMA Women Advancement Establishment in collaboration with UN Women, takes place on 4th-5th December at the Expo Centre Sharjah. It brings together international organisations, governmental bodies, private corporations and an elite group of thought leaders and businesswomen from across the globe to share their expertise and best practices.
Some of the most qualified individuals and authorities in their fields will explore ways of influencing policymakers to fully empower and incorporate women into leading roles within the world economy, in line with the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2015.
Reem BinKaram, Director of NAMA, called upon all participating organisations to support international and local programmes designed to increase women’s participation in sustainable development and stressed the importance of harnessing the full potential of women across all sectors of the economy and society.
"WEEGS aims to motivate global public opinion and decision-makers to adopt more measures to restore balance to communities. The vast majority of decision- and policy-making isolates women, despite them making up half the population. There is a genuine lack of understanding regarding the capabilities and strengths of women in a modern age, and the huge benefits and stability that societies can gain by redressing that bias," BinKaram said.
Claiming that customs and traditions are among the biggest obstacles standing in the way of women's empowerment, she added, "Even if legislators and non-government organisations have realised the benefits of women's empowerment and involvement, there are many people who are hesitant to disrupt the status quo and will continue to allow social customs to remain a hurdle in the way of development."
The agenda of the two-day summit will include live panel discussions illustrating challenges facing the empowerment of women in various economic sectors and will highlight the current reality of women in order to explore ways of finding practical solutions to overcome these challenges.
"The business sector in the Middle East and the rest of the world must concentrate its efforts and play a bigger role in the empowerment of women. We need to adopt more effective policies and strategies that allow the implementation of the 2015 UN sustainable development action plan to empower women economically by 2030 in keeping up with the latest practices embraced by developed countries," BinKaram said.
|
New
Review
Sharjah International Airport - 41°F
