Here’s Why the World’s Largest Gathering on Women’s Health Chose to Meet in Vancouver

Sponsored Content from Vancouver Convention and Visitors Bureau and Vancouver Convention Centre

Author: Sarah Beauchamp       

The conference that organizers called ‘a fueling station for people working to achieve a more gender-equal world’ found the perfect fit in Vancouver.

When choosing the next destination for what’s become the largest international event focused on women’s health and rights, Women Deliver wanted to find a host as dedicated to gender equality as it is. So the advocacy organization looked to Vancouver, Canada.

Vancouver is known for its commitment to social responsibility.

Ranked the top destination in North America for business meetings, according to STR’s DestinationMAP, Vancouver also is known for its commitment to social responsibility, making it an obvious choice for the next Women Deliver Conference. The destination is committed to providing the resources necessary for Women Deliver delegates to return to their home countries inspired and ready to make change.

In June last year, Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, announced that Vancouver will host the Women Deliver Conference, June 3-6, 2019 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The Convention Centre team, and the city of Vancouver, has made it a priority to embrace diversity and inclusion, making it the perfect fit for the largest gathering on girls’ and women’s health, rights, and well-being in the world.

“We selected Canada because it’s one of the countries in the world that delivers for girls and women,” Hannah August, director of communications for Women Deliver, tells PCMA. “Canada shares our value that investing in girls and women has a ripple effect that drives progress for all. That’s why the government has a Feminist International Assistance Policy that puts gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights at its core. The 2019 conference will be an opportunity to do even more.”

The last Women Deliver Conference, which is held every three years, was in Copenhagen in 2016. More than 6,000 delegates, including world leaders, academics, and advocates, convened in Denmark for the landmark event. Core to the Women Deliver Conference is sharing solutions, Katja Iverson, president and CEO of Women Deliver, said. “Everything is focused on solutions, because that’s what can inspire, that’s what can give hope, and that’s what can showcase what can be done moving forward from here.”

Women Deliver

When the group meets in Vancouver, attendees will explore the city through off-site events and work with local organizations on various initiatives to help achieve gender parity internationally. “Plans are still underway, but partners will be hosting events and activities throughout the city to showcase their work when the world comes to Vancouver,” August says. “The Women Deliver 2019 Conference will be more than what takes place between the walls of the Vancouver Convention Centre. The Canadian mobilization effort is working with organizations from all sectors in Vancouver. We are already seeing a multitude of organizations working locally and globally stepping up to shine a spotlight on the importance of gender equality.”

Next year’s conference will come at a time “when the global terrain for girls and women continues to shift,” August explains, “as progress in health, education, and economic participation of women is threatened by forces that want to scale back girls’ and women’s rights and their ability to decide on their own bodies and lives.” The Women Deliver Conference will be a place where attendees can convene to discuss their ideas for a better future, and Vancouver is dedicated to providing the tools and resources they need to achieve their goals.

“With thousands of world leaders, influencers, advocates, academics, private sector leaders, young people, and journalists headed to Vancouver,” August says, “the conference will serve as a fueling station for people working to achieve a more gender-equal world.”

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