Every three years, Commonwealth Ministers responsible for women’s affairs meet to agree action on issues such as gender equality.
Since 1990, each Commonwealth Women's Affairs Ministers Meeting, or WAMM, has afforded civil society organisations the opportunity to influence and shape its outcomes, as well as wider policy and practice on women’s affairs.
The 9WAMM took place in Barbados between 6 and 9 June 2010.
Civil society participation
Accredited representatives of non-governmental groups working on women’s issues are able to participate in plenary sessions and debates organised on specific themes.
Each WAMM is preceded by a series of national consultations and a Civil Society Meeting, normally attended by around 20 international women’s organisations and up to 200 local groups from the host country.
The Civil Society Meeting is part of a larger Partners' Forum which comprises events organised by other organisations, including Commonwealth associations and donors.
A civil society statement is developed by the representatives and then presented to Ministers in a special plenary session. Held in the two days before the WAMM, Ministers are invited to participate in each of the meetings.
Our role
The Commonwealth Foundation is mandated to support civil society’s contributions to each WAMM. This includes helping organisations to develop programmes for the event, providing funding for participants to attend, and helping civil society groups to manage the various stages of decision making.
We also help to organise the Civil Society Meeting and Partners' Forum with the host government, Commonwealth Women’s Network and local groups.
Accreditation
The following organisations may be accredited to the WAMM:
- Organisations that are formally accredited to the Commonwealth
- Selected organisations with which the Commonwealth Secretariat has a working relationship