The Women Economic Forum (WEF), a global organisation that aims to expand economic opportunity for women worldwide, will host its annual gathering in Buenos Aires next year, officials announced Wednesday.
The decision, though rumoured a few months prior, was confirmed at Argentina's Embassy in Colombia, where discussions occurred. The event hope to encourage the exchange of ideas and experiences among women and improve their economic empowerment around the world.
The agreement was signed by Nadia Sanchez, CEO of She Is, a Colombian NGO linking women entrepreneurs to global markets, Dr. Lina Anllo, president of Argentina’s chapter of the World Compliance Association and Viviana Zocco, the owner of Up Ward Argentina.
Marcelo Stubrin, Argentina’s ambassador to Colombia, and other government officials, as well as additional members of She Is, also signed the documentation.
Previous annual forums have been mostly been held in India, where WEF is based, and led by the organisation’s founder Harbeen Arora, who is also president of ALL Ladies League.
This year marked WEF’s first annual forum in Latin America, hosted by Sanchez, which took place in her home nation of Colombia. Its goal was to pursue initiatives that will specifically help the progress of women in this region, and it included over 26 countries, 200 speakers and 1,500 attendees.
Colombia’s Vice-President Marta Lucía Ramírez delivered opening remarks and Rigoberta Menchú, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, closed off the event with a speech.
Next October, it will be Argentina’s turn. Organisers say the event will mark another milestone in the women's rights movement in Argentina. The country has a powerful feminist movement that has rallied in a bid to tackle femicides and demand abortion reform.
The event's organisers estimate it will bring 1,000 attendees, 150 speakers and representatives from all the country’s provinces to the capital, as well as movers and shakers from the rest of Latin America and the world.
Amongst these attendees will be voices from political leanings and a range of professional backgrounds, like business, sports, the arts, science, technology, environmental and academia.
The discussion around the economic empowerment of women will be the central focus, but leaders hope to take it one step further by turning ideas that arise from the forum into concrete public policies at the local and global levels.
With one year until the event is scheduled to take place, high-profile individuals representing governments, NGOs, advocacy groups and the private sector have already committed to attending.
– TIMES/NA
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