Santo Domingo Will Be the Women's Capital in October

The situation of Latin American and Caribbean women is once more at the heart of regional debate thanks to the meeting organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to review fulfilment of national gender equality commitments in a few weeks time.

The twelfth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean will be held from 15 to 18 October 2013 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to bring together authorities, experts, international officials and representatives from civil society and the business sector.

Organized by ECLAC and the Government of the Dominican Republic, the Conference will provide countries with an opportunity to identify the needs of the region's women and come up with public policy options in various spheres.

The intergovernmental meeting will focus on gender equality, women's empowerment and information and communications technologies (ICTs). In this context, the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, Alicia Bárcena, will present the position paper Women in the Digital Economy. Breaking through the equality threshold, which was prepared by the Gender Affairs Division in collaboration with the Commission's Division of Production, Productivity and Management.

The event will involve roundtable discussions, panels and side events on issues such as productive development and equality, ICT access policies, women in business and science, ICT statistics and gender, policies for rural women and the empowerment of indigenous women.

One example is the roundtable discussion on Beijing+20: prospects and challenges, which will be moderated by Sonia Montaño, Director of the Gender Affairs Division of ECLAC, and will involve government officials, academics and representatives from non-governmental organizations.

Every three years, ECLAC invites Member States to identify women's needs, present recommendations, evaluate activities carried out to comply with relevant regional and international agreements or plans and provide a forum for debate.

Previous Regional Conferences were held in Brazil (2010), Ecuador (2007), Mexico (2004), Peru (2000), Chile (1997), Argentina (1994), Netherlands Antilles (1991), Guatemala (1988), Mexico (1983), Venezuela (1979) and Cuba (1977).

Delegates are expected to sign the Santo Domingo Consensus in the Dominican Republic, which will contain the regional and subregional needs of women as identified during the Conference, as well as commitments undertaken by countries to continue making progress towards gender equality.

Further information on the Conference and media accreditation is available here: https://www.cepal.org/en/events/xii-regional-conference-women-latin-america-and-caribbean