20th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action
Re-thinking women's empowerment and gender equality in 2015 and beyond
In 1995, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) was adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women, and subsequently endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996. The Beijing Platform for Action, to which 189 countries committed themselves, constitutes a global framework for realizing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
The 20-year review of progress in implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (Beijing+20) takes place at a strategic moment: the global community is intensifying efforts towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and work on shaping a post-2015 development agenda and sustainable development goals (SDGs) is intensifying. The interlinked processes of the Beijing+20 review and the elaboration of the post-2015 development agenda provide a critical opportunity to position gender equality and women’s empowerment at the center of the global agenda, both as an important end in itself and as an essential means for the achievement of sustainable development in all its dimensions.
At this critical moment, UNESCO celebrates International Women’s Day 2015 with the theme of "Re-Thinking Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality in 2015 and beyond". Click here to know more!