The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, will hold, in co-ordination with the Islamic Development Bank and the Statistical Economic and Social Research and Training Centre Of Islamic Countries, SESRIC, a workshop to build the capacities of national institutions for the advancement and empowerment of women, on 17th and 18th December, 2017, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Jeddah.

The workshop will be held under the framework of monitoring the implementation of the 6th Ministerial Conference on Women and the resolutions issued by the 44th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, to adopt the OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women, OPAAW.

The workshop will be attended by the representatives of national institutions tasked with the advancement of women in the OIC’s member states and its bodies and institutions, as well as its partner organisations. Presentations will be made on the issue of women's empowerment, as a prerequisite to achieving sustainable development goals, as well as on how to link the OPAAW to these goals.

Guidelines for standardising the reports to be submitted to the OIC General Secretariat on the activities of parties involved in its member states will also be presented, as well as the reports on its bodies and institutions regarding their contributions to the implementation of its action plan. The participants will review the opportunities offered by relevant OIC institutions to national institutions, and the issue of financing women's empowerment projects.

The meeting is expected to reach practical recommendations and solutions that will help realise the OPAAW’s implementation, enhance the OIC’s role in the field of women’s empowerment, and develop effective mechanisms to provide information on the implementation of the plan. This will enable the OIC to address various challenges facing women, especially in conflict and war zones, as well as strengthen the partnership and co-operation between its Member States in women’s empowerment, and the role of civil society in overcoming the obstacles that hinder women’s empowerment