Regional Central Asian Conference held in Bishkek

Bishkek, 12-13 November – The Regional Central Asian Conference was held in Bishkek with the participation of regional international organizations and government entities from 30 countries. The conference’s goals centered on sustainable development, and effective ways to solve the issues of poverty, ecological degradation, and gender inequality were discussed. Kyrgyz Republic ex-president and The “Initiative of Roza Otunbayeva” International Public Foundation head R. I. Otunbayeva spoke at the Forum’s opening.

The mutual relationship between gender equality and the sustainable development in such things as energy-resources, health, education, food security, climate change, human rights, growth models and production and urbanization are widely observed. “Provincial women’s poverty and inequality are causing all kinds of societal ills; the conditions of religious and patriarchal radicalism are causing increasing limits on opportunities and violence towards women. Regrettably, the reception of the decisions by women in our country on natural resource management, and actions to lower the risks of climate change and natural disasters have been received very poorly. There is only one female oblast governor, there is no female head of any provincial rayon, and no woman has ever held a ministry position in economics, village management, statistics, forestry or tourism. Next year’s local elections will be a significant test for women. Gender equality, sustainable economic development and the nation’s political stability depend upon how well we prepare for and the results of these elections,” R. Otunbayeva said.

The “Powerful Synergies: Gender Equality, Economic Development and Environmental Sustainability” conference was organized jointly by the UNDP – UNEP in the Kyrgyz Republic, the “Poverty and Local Communities” service initiatives and the “UN Women” Country Office in the Kyrgyz Republic.