13 August 2012: The First World Congress of Global Partnership for Young Women concluded with an address from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in which he said equality makes it possible to achieve “huge breakthroughs” in development progress, and the lack of women’s empowerment and individual rights is holding back entire countries. He called on governments to address women’s needs and rights in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to advance the post-2015 development agenda.

The World Congress took place from 10-13 August 2012, at the Duksung Women’s University in Seoul, Republic of Korea, organized by UN Women and Duksung University, on the theme “Sharing Together – A Sustainable Global Partnership for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.” Participants included around 1,000 university students from 100 universities in 20 countries in Asia, and eight countries in Africa, as well as around 100 women leaders from financial, political and academic circles, including the Executive Director of UN Women.

The World Congress aims to forge partnership and find solutions to national and international women’s issues. The first World Congress included a “partnership competition” in which teams of participants researched and presented topics including adaptation of water purification methods from 1960s Korea to present-day sub-Saharan Africa, and a gender equality campaign in Uzbekistan.

During the Congress, the Second Global Partnership Forum took place on 10 August. Nobel Peace Prize laureates and other women leaders discussed issues including a model for a global partnership, knowledge and research networks across Asia and Africa, green energy development partnerships and gender equality. [World Congress Website] [UN Press Release]