Preparatory Visit to Amman Ahead of Upcoming WSF Meeting, 19-21 May 2025
Cecily Bayliss travelled to Amman from 19-21 May to finalise arrangements for the upcoming Women for a Sustainable Future (WSF) network meeting in July 2025, and to discuss ongoing challenges threatening women's livelihoods and sustainable development in the West Asia-North Africa (WANA) region.
Cecily met with H.E. Wafa Bani Mustafa, Jordan's Minister of Social Development and host of the July WSF meeting, to finalise the agenda. The meeting will convene women parliamentarians, government officials and experts from the WANA region and Europe, alongside Jordanian ministers, to develop policy frameworks addressing water management and care economy challenges.
Discussions with WSF member and Jordanian parliamentarian Dina Al Bashir, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, focused on Jordan's developing political priorities and parliamentary approaches to the network's key issues.
A meeting with HRH Princess Rym Ali, President of the Anna Lindh Foundation, explored potential alignment between the Princess's initiatives and WSF objectives, revealing shared priorities around women's leadership and sustainable development.
Cecily also met with WSF member Dr Majd Al Naber, Director General of the West Asia-North Africa Institute, and her team. The Institute, operating under HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal's chairmanship, promotes evidence-based policy to address development and humanitarian challenges in the region. Their discussions identified cooperation opportunities on gender-responsive policy work for climate adaptation and social development.
Additional engagements included a meeting with British Ambassador Philip Hall to learn about embassy programmes supporting women's empowerment and addressing water scarcity in Jordan. A roundtable with over 15 civil society representatives emphasised the importance of community-based approaches to assess local needs, address inequalities, and provide essential resources for tackling complex social issues.
Meeting with H.E. Wafa Bani Mustafa, Minister of Social Development.
Meeting with a group of civil society representatives.