International activists, academics, officials and prominent individuals are attending the first international conference on "Women in the Knowledge and Innovation Economy” (#MECImx 2016), being held from January 25-26 in the Peón Contreras Theater in Merida, Yucatan, where the First Feminist Congress of Mexico was held 100 years ago.
At the inauguration of the conference, Foreign Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu said that the resource most wasted by countries is the creative and transformational potential of women and that it will not be possible to achieve sustainable development if the full capabilities of women and children are not encouraged.
The Foreign Secretary was accompanied at the inauguration by Yucatan Governor Rolando Zapata Bello; Ana Güezmes, head of UN Women in Mexico; INMUJERES President Lorena Cruz Sánchez; and Supreme Court President Luis María Aguilar.
During the day, there were videoconferences with Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General and Nobel Peace Prize winner; Ziauddin Yousafzai, an educator, activist and the father of Malala; Al Gore, climate change activist and former US Vice President; and Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator of the US Small Business Administration.
There was a panel on Mexico’s view of and commitment to the empowerment of women with Foreign Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu; Senator Gabriela Cuevas; Amalia García, Mexico City Labor Secretary; INMUJERES President Lorena Cruz Sánchez; and INDESOL Director Maria Angélica Luna Parra, and talks by Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary General for the Iberoamerican Conference, and Thomas Suarez, TED youth speaker and application developer.
