The Conference, which was held on the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Action Plan for the improvement of gender equality, is organized by OSCE in cooperation with the Secretariat and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The Conference discussed the following topics: gender perspectives in crisis management, gender perspectives in economic empowerment, women's participation in politics and public life, prevention of violence against women and strengthening of institutional mechanisms for gender mainstreaming policies.

At the opening of the Conference, participants were addressed by the Swiss Special Representative for Global Sustainable Development Ambassador, Mr Michael Gerber, OSCE Secretary General, Ambassador Mr Lamberto Zannier, Director of the ODIHR, Mr Michael Georg Link, Permanent Representative of Croatia to the OSCE and the member of the CEDAW Committee, Ambassador Ms Dubravka Simonović, and the Finnish Minister for International Development, Mr Pekka Haavisto.

Participants of the Conference have pointed out, inter alia, that since the adoption of the 2004 Action Plan, a significant progress was made in achieving gender equality, but that new initiatives were needed in areas where progress was still lacking.

The Conference, which brought together representatives of state institutions, civil society and universities, was held in order to discuss current progress in the implementation of commitments related to gender equality.