The next Women Deliver Global Conference will take place in Copenhagen in May 2016, it was confirmed yesterday at the Danish parliament, and it promises to be the biggest gathering concerning female health and rights of the last decade.
The last conference was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2013 and was attended by 4,500 people from 149 countries. Conferences in Washington DC (2010) and London (2007) were also high-profile events, generating debate about issues including high maternal mortality rates and access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Denmark's "key role"
The announcement was made during the 'Invest in Girls and Women – Everybody Wins' event at the Danish parliament, where a new strategic framework for gender equality, rights and diversity was presented. Crown Princess Mary and Mogens Jensen, the minister for trade and development co-operation, were among those present.
Women Deliver president Jill Sheffield commended the Danish government for playing "a key role in advancing girls’ and women’s health and rights".
"With its support, this conference could catapult these issues to the forefront of the global development agenda and unify advocates from all around the world around one simple ask: Invest in girls and women, it pays,” she said in a statement.
