The aim of this conference was to enhance regional cooperation between female legislators, learn from various regional and international experiences and to strengthen the network of female legislators. Furthermore, by partnering with WAND, this conference provided lawmakers from the United States of America a unique opportunity to reach out to women legislators from the wider MENA region and to learn of their concerns.

Participants had the opportunity to meet with various committees of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, including the committtes on Defense, Human Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men.

A follow-up meeting was organized in Washington, D.C., prior to WAND’s national biennial conference.

The "Partnership to Strengthen Women’s Political Empowerment and to Advance the Role of Women in Peace, Security, and Human Rights" was financially supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Policy kindly co-sponsored the conference in Ankara.