Hosted by the US and the Republic of Tunisia, the Forum brought together G8 and BMENA ministers and government leaders, as well as 45 civil society and private sector regional leaders.
Tunisia and the US proposed the creation of the Arab Women's Entrepreneurship Alliance (AWEA) to address the barriers faced by women-owned and -operated businesses.
14 December 2012: The ninth Forum for the Future, a platform bringing together governments, the private sector and civil society groups from the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) region with Group of 8 (G8) States to work on political, social, and economic reform, took place on 13 December 2012.
Hosted by the US – as the G8 President for 2012 – and the Republic of Tunisia, the Forum brought together G8 and BMENA ministers and government leaders, as well as 45 civil society and private sector regional leaders. Participants discussed women’s empowerment, economic governance and entrepreneurship, and freedom of expression and association. The US announced its support for the launch of the MENA Partnership for Democracy and Development (MPD), as well as a new Journalist Response Fund to provide training to at-risk journalists, bloggers, and citizen journalists, and to offer emergency assistance to journalists facing difficulties or repression. Together with Tunisia, the US also proposed the creation of the Arab Women’s Entrepreneurship Alliance (AWEA) to address the barriers faced by women-owned and -operated businesses. [US Department of State Press Release] [Forum Website]