African and Spanish leaders will meet in Gran Canaria to discuss progress and challenges in the area of women´s empowerment.

For two days, eight female representatives of various sectors--economic-business, social and political--from Spain, Mali, Senegal, Kenya, Gambia and Burundi will analyse the progress made by the Network of African and Spanish Women for a Better World and examine the Network´s 2011 Work Plan at Casa África´s headquarters in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The meeting´s inauguration will take place on Thursday the 16th at 9:45 am in Casa África´s Nelson Mandela Auditorium, and it will include the participation of María Elena Ruiz Abril, the director of UNIFEM in the Canary Islands, and Ricardo Martínez Vázquez, the general director of Casa África. As a result, the meeting will become a unique opportunity to discuss the challenges of women´s empowerment in both Spain as well as in the African continent, which is why the first session will include a round table titled The agenda of women in Africa and Spain: priorities and areas for collaboration. The event will begin at 6:30 pm in Casa África and it will be attended by civil society groups that fight for gender equality on various levels.

The Network of African and Spanish Women for a Better World is a project of UNIFEM and of the Spanish Government that includes nearly 1,300 associations, institutions and individuals who work towards promoting gender equality and human rights for women and girls in Spain and in the African continent.