From L-R:  Ms. EwaSynowiec, Director of the European Commission Representation in Poland;Ms. DorotaWarakomska, President of the Congress of Women Association; H.E. Georges Faber, Ambassador of Luxembourg; H.E.  Anna Azari, Ambassador of Israel; H.E. Hanna Lehtinen, Ambassador of Finland; Ambassador Patricia Ann V. Paez andMs. EwaRumińska-ZImny, Vice-President of the Congress of Women

Ms. DorotaWarakomska (R) during her presentation, with Ambassador Hanna Lehtinen of Finland.

From L-R: H.E. Pierre Clive Agius, Ambassador of Malta; Mr. UlrikTidestrom, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Sweden; H.E. Anna Azari, Ambassador of Israel; Ms. Marzenna-Guz Vetter, Head of the Political Department of the European Commission Representation in Poland; and, Ms. EwaSynowiec, Director of the European Commission Representation in Poland

   The Philippine Embassy in Warsaw, represented by Philippine envoy to Poland  Ms. Patricia Ann V. Paez and by the Embassy’s Gender and Development (GAD) officer Ms. Catherine Ramintas, joined the launching-meeting of the “Friends of the Congress of Women” together with the ambassadors of Australia, Israel, Ireland, and Luxembourg; the Charge d’Affaires of Sweden and Germany; the officials of the EU Commission-Warsaw; and the officials of Poland’s Congress of Women (KongresKobiet)) last 04 September 2015.

   The president of the Congress of Women Ms. DorotaWaramonska also announced that the 26th Global Summit of Women will be held in Warsaw in 2016.

   The meeting was held at the Embassy of Finland and was presided Iby Finland’s envoy to Poland H.E. Hanna Lehtinen. Ms.Warakomska gave a brief backgrounder on and cited the accomplishments and priorities of the KongresKobiet.

   She said that the Congress of Women is the largest non-partisan civic movement in Poland that “brings together women from all over Poland irrespective of their views, origin, class, profession and membership in parties, organizations, and background.” Every year, the Congress of Women holds a Great Conference which draws at least 10,000 women “to raise the consciousness of women, exchange information about the activities and concerns of women in Poland, provide mutual support, engage in community-building and lobbying, formulate proposals, and create mechanisms to pursue these objectives.”

   In March 2011, the Congress of Women created a Shadow Cabinet which monitors the activities of key government officials and politicians and draws attention to concerns which are important to women but which may have been overlooked by the government. The Shadow Cabinet meets with the Prime Minister on a regular basis.

   A major accomplishment of the Congress of Women was the enactment of a law in 2011 which guarantees women 35% share on the electoral list to ensure gender parity.

   The first Congress of Women was held in June 2004 and the Congress of Women Association was established on 28 January 2010. The main objective of the Association is the “promotion of the goals of the Congress of Women, notably by promoting women’s professional and political activities at the local, regional, and national levels, and by supporting their activities in other fields.”