Announcement
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International women’s conference
Gender and Democracy
September 11th to 13th 2004
Federal Foreign Ministry, Berlin, Germany

The National Council of German Women’s Organizations cordially invites you to take part in a dialogue about European and international women’s rights, new forms of women’s participation and strategies of ensuring political and social equality for women.
A century ago Berlin hosted three international women’s convocations that had a profound impact on the women’s movement worldwide. At the time, no woman anywhere in Europe possessed the right to vote. Women’s initiatives and activities around the globe in the intervening decaded have led to suffrage in all but a small number of countries. However, women around the globe continue to lack political and social equality.

Considering this background the conference focuses on two special issues:
The enlargement of the European Union presents women not only with new possibilities but also new obstacles that need to be addressed. We will examine the current state of women’s rights in Europe and discuss options and limitations of women’s participation in the European Union.
Globally, women have found manifold forms of engagement to demand their rights. The United Nations have traditionally played a key role in securing women’s rights. With the accelerating process of globalization other international organizations have also gained in importance. Thus the question of strategies to realize women’s rights globally is of main concern.

The following key speakers have been invited to the conference:
• Tarja Halonen, President of the Republic of Finland (tbc)
• Renate Schmidt, Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Germany (tbc)
• Joschka Fischer, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Germany (tbc)
• Lydia la Rivière-Zijdel, President, European Women’s Lobby (EWL), Brussels (tbc)
• Prof. Charlotte Bunch, Executive Director, Center for Women’s Global Leadership (tbc)

The conference is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and the German Federal Foreign Ministry. The conference is designed for 250 participants. In the coming weeks, we will again contact the umbrella organizations/networks in Europe and the member organizations of the National Council of German Women Organizations for names of participants. Anticipated conference fee will be 230€ including accommodation and 75€ without accommodation. We are trying to reimburse participants from outside Germany at least partially for their travel costs.

Additional information and registration details will follow shortly.