During the conference, local partners, eminent experts and civil society gathered together to discuss the results emerged from the extensive research.

The conference began with welcoming remarks from the Director of the Division for Gender Equality, the Japanese Ambassador, the Deputy Permanent Delegate of Tunisia and the Deputy Permanent Delegate of Morocco. Then a presentation of each country’s report followed, displaying the results and especially the recommendations for the development of public policies. The last part of the conference entailed a roundtable with three experts working on this issue - Professor Dahlerup, Professor Bessis and Professor Bernard-Maugiron - to discuss new recommendations for supporting future policies and actions for the political empowerment of women in the region.

The Director-General gave the closing speech where she stressed the long way there is still to go to achieve full participation of women in politics. "There can be no sustainable society when half the population is excluded", she said.

But women's participation does not end in political life. Women’s access to decision-making is an integral part of the sustainable development goals, where it is stated that participation should be guaranteed, not only in the political arena, but also in economic and public life.

The Director-General also highlighted the positive impact of the presence of women in decision-making: “[…] because the greater diversity of people and opinion can only strengthen the public debate, can only sharpen decision-making”.

The Final reports from each country will be published in August 2016. They will be complemented by a policy brief that will include all the recommendations drawn in the reports and by the experts at the conference.