José Luis Cancela, Deputy Foreign Minister of Uruguay, opened the forum by thanking Silvana War of the Gender Commission the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay for her contribution toward the organisation of this event.

He underlined the active Uruguayan participation in the drafting of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, which establishes an action plan of 17 main goals with 169 associated targets, covering the economic, social and environmental.

Monday 9th November 2015 – Public Forum

Uruguay 2030 : Towards sustainable consumption and production patterns and equitable distribution

DAWN members from four continents met at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Montevideo to discuss key feminist issues on economics and women’s human rights in the new UN agenda for Sustainable Development by 2030.

The forum was organized by DAWN and cosponsored by the International Council of Adult Education (ICAE) and the Gender Commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay. Feminists from Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, India, China, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Fiji joined forces to continue supporting Uruguay as the great bastion of rights agenda before the intense battle of conservative forces that threaten the progress made in the region.
There was standing room only.

The forum was moderated by Nicole Bidegain, a member of the DAWN Executive Committee, the speakers were:
José Luis Cancela, Deputy Foreign Minister
Claire Slatter, Chair of the DAWN Board (Fiji)
Gita Sen, General Coordinator of DAWN (India)
Gabriel Papa, Advisor to the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MIEF)
Pablo Alvarez, coordinator of the Office of Planning and Budget (OPP )
Pablo Mazzini, National Secretariat for Care of the Ministry of Development ( MIDES )
Senator Constanza Moreira

Claire Slatter, the Chair of DAWN’s Board, officially thanked everyone for coming on behalf of DAWN, for what is hoped to be a collective reflection and a productive and meaningful exchange

Gita Sen, General Coordinator for DAWN, referred to Uruguay as an exemplary country in relation to progress in their policies of social rights. This forum was also an opportunity to launch the Spanish version of “The Remaking of Social Contracts: Feminists in a Fierce New World” co-edited by Sen and Durano, in which the relationships between the neoliberal economic agenda, ecological problems including climate change, the struggle for sexual and reproductive rights and for progressive policies and social transformation are enmeshed

Gabriel Papa, Ministry of Economy and Finance, shared the overview of the macroeconomic situation of Uruguay and expressed willingness to start incorporating the gender perspective in its portfolio.

Senator Contanza Moreira reflected on the recently approved 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the UN and defined it as “a list of good intentions.”

Pablo Alvarez, Office of Planning & Budget, stated that his institution is working on a rigorous commitment to planning the development of ten prospective axes facing Uruguay in 2030.

Pablo Mazzini, National Secretariat for Care, referred to the care system, a new public policy of the current government that is driven from the secretariat.