23.12.2024 / News

G. Karelova: In 2024, the Council of the Eurasian Women's Forum held a record number of events

More than 15 million people took part in them, noted the head of the EWF Council.

2024 was a record year for the Council of the Eurasian Women's Forum in terms of both the number of events and audience reach - more than 1,500 events were held as part of the project work, with over 15 million participants, and the largest and most striking international event was the Fourth Eurasian Women's Forum, which was attended by more than 2,000 delegates from 126 countries. This was reported by the Chairperson of the EWF Council, Russian Senator Galina Karelova, speaking at a press conference at the International Press Center of the Russia Today media group. The event was dedicated to the results of the EWF project activities in the outgoing year and plans for 2025.

According to Galina Karelova, project activities have allowed the Eurasian Women's Forum to conduct continuous work for almost 10 years, expanding the circle of like-minded people in Russia and abroad interested in developing the women's agenda. Currently, the EWF Council portfolio includes 32 projects. They correspond to the National Strategy of Actions in the Interests of Women and are related to increasing the role of women in various spheres of science, economics and socio-political life.

One of the important areas of the EWF's activities is educational projects. In 2024, the senator reported, there were 10 programs in which not only Russian women but also representatives of 42 foreign countries participate. In particular, more than 300 graduates of the educational program "Woman Can" began to run their own entrepreneurial projects this year.

In 2024, new educational programs were launched, such as "Why Women Invest", "Moms in Media", a personnel retraining program aimed at developing indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East, and others. All programs are federal in scope and are held both in person and remotely. The number of online views in 2024 exceeded 5 million, Galina Karelova emphasized.

One of the tools for popularizing EWF projects and involving women from the regions in them in 2024 were regional forums and all-Russian competitions — both among women and among their employers. "Interest in them is growing, which is confirmed by the statistics of views — they number in the millions. The result of the competitions is an increase in the number of women exporters, an increase in the scientific work of women doctors, an increase in the popularity of family traditions, an influx of women into high-tech industries. A number of competitions in 2024 became international."

"International cooperation is the most important area of the EWF's activities. Despite the difficult foreign policy situation, the EWF has maintained its ties with international organizations. Thanks to the Fourth Eurasian Women's Forum, international cooperation received a new impetus, especially with the BRICS countries. A new communication platform was created to develop common approaches to solving current problems and implementing new initiatives - the BRICS Women's Forum," the parliamentarian said.

According to her, 2025 promises to be no less eventful. It is necessary to develop existing projects, as well as new ones created following the results of the IV EWF. They are aimed at professional self-realization of women, increasing their role in the socio-economic development of the Far East and the Arctic, etc.

The senator noted that 2025 will begin with the presentation of EWF projects at the International Women's Forum in Bahrain.

In the first months of the coming year, the first International Competition of Women's Initiatives in the Sphere of Ecology and Sustainable Development of the BRICS Countries will also be held. In addition, an international program "Woman Leader" will be organized for participants from the BRICS countries, a number of projects will be implemented jointly with representatives of the nuclear and pharmaceutical industries of different countries. In addition, a competition of women's entrepreneurial projects in APEC will be held, new joint projects with women from Africa are planned, and cooperation with the CIS countries will continue.

As Galina Karelova reported, the first major event of the year will be the All-Russian Forum “Women for a Healthy Society”.

During the meeting, Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Elena Afanasyeva spoke about working with compatriots abroad and how this area will develop in 2025.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Ekaterina Priezzheva presented the main areas of activity to increase the role of women in various industries.

Member of the Management Board and Managing Director of SIBUR Marina Medvedeva presented the project “Women in Engineering and Technical Professions: Corporate Approach and New Solutions”.

Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Elvira Nurgalieva became the coordinator of the new project "Women in the Socio-Economic Development of the Far East and the Arctic". She spoke about the plans for its implementation.

Director of the National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine Oksana Drapkina summed up the results of the Women for a Healthy Society project and announced plans for the next year.

The head of the National Center for Historical Memory under the President of the Russian Federation, Elena Malysheva, who coordinates the Women for the Preservation of Traditions project, also shared her plans for 2025.

Alexandra Ryabykh, co-founder of the Foundation for the Support and Development of Women's Initiatives "Association of Women in the Nuclear Industry", spoke about the topics that unite women specialists in industry and technology in different countries today and how international dialogue is developing.

During the press conference, the vice-president of OPORA RUSSIA, coordinator of the project "Development of Women's Entrepreneurship" Nadiya Cherkasova, general director of the Analytical Center NAFI, coordinator of the project of the Council of the EWF "Research of the socio-economic status of women: Russian and international experience" Guzeliya Imaeva spoke.

The organizers of the Eurasian Women's Forum are the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The operator for the preparation and holding of the event is the Roscongress Foundation.

Global platform of the Eurasian Women's Forum eawf.ru

Official website of the fourth Eurasian Women's Forum 2024.eawf.ru