The first ever Commonwealth Women’s Forum 2015 (22 – 24 November, Intercontinental Hotel, Malta) was chaired by Claire Cassar, CEO at HAUD.

The event, which was held ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), running 27 – 29 November, aimed to raise awareness of Commonwealth countries and show how women’s contributions can have a positive impact politically, economically and socially.

The forum theme was Women Ahead: Be All That You Can Be and followed the Maltese Government and Commonwealth Gender Plan of Action Monitoring Group recognition of the need to raise awareness of such matters and highlight issues relating to women’s rights.

Commenting on the event, Claire said: “The aim of the forum was to come up with agreed targets and strategies, highlighting the importance of women’s participation at all levels of decision making and present this to Ministers of Foreign Affairs ahead of the Heads of Governments meeting.

“The intention is for the Commonwealth Women’s Forum to become a permanent fixture in CHOGM programmes so it was exciting to be part of such a game-changing event for gender equality within the Commonwealth and beyond.”

The President of Malta opened the forum, which was attended by leaders, businesswomen, first ladies and role models from more than 50 countries. A number of topics were discussed, including an outlook on women’s empowerment and leadership, education, enterprise, healthy respect, media and ICT.

If you’d like further information on the event, visit www.chogm2015.mt/fora/women.