Gender Day at COP 20/CMP 10: Announcing Womens' Leadership Programme for 2015

9 December 2014, Peru, Lima - For 2015, UNITAR, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat, with the support of UN Women, announce the launching of a Womens’ Leadership Programme, recognizing womens’ role in addressing climate change issues and seeking to build leadership skills to ensure gender equality in critical weather and climate contexts.

Marking Gender Day at the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties and the 10th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol of the UNFCCC, and celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the Womens’ Leadership Programme recognizes the importance of advancing gender equality and the role of women in building climate-resilient communities, gender sensitive policies and effective climate change solutions on local, national and international levels.

Following the success of the WMO Conference on the Gender Dimensions of Weather and Climate Services in November 2014, the initiative announced today will be launched in Geneva at the Seventeenth World Meteorological Congress in May 2015.  The first Womens’ Leadership Workshop aims to strengthen the skills of delegates and diplomats attending the WMO Congress , and will be opened by high-level executives of the partner organizations.  Other activities will follow, dates to be confirmed.

For further information, please contact Ms. Emily Fraser at emily.fraser<at>unitar.org (Specialist, Multilateral Diplomacy Programme, UNITAR)

Photo credit: UN PhotoMartine Perret