Minister Göktaş spoke at the opening program of the Global Women’s Summit

ISTANBUL (AA) – Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş said, “Every policy that makes women’s potential visible creates value for the whole society. Every mechanism that supports women’s entrepreneurship revitalizes the economy. Every investment that increases women’s digital skills brings countries to the forefront of the new economy. Therefore, women’s empowerment is a strategic issue that stands at the center of development.” he said.

In her speech at the opening program of the Global Women’s Summit held at the Hilton Bomonti Istanbul Hotel in Şişli, Göktaş said that she was very happy to host the participants in Istanbul, Turkey, at such an important summit, and that today they were together with policy makers, economists, representatives of the business world and non-governmental organizations and academics from different countries. Stating that the summit is an important opportunity to transform the empowerment of women in the economic, social and digital fields into a concrete basis for cooperation and a common will for the future, Göktaş said, “The summit held in Turkey in 2011 was a strong example of international solidarity and awareness of common responsibility.

We are excited to host this important meeting again today. Undoubtedly, the dialogues we will establish will offer a vision that will shape the global economy of the future and the understanding of sustainable development. I hope that this valuable summit will further strengthen our will for the empowerment of women.” he said. Reminding that the world is going through a multi-layered transformation process today, Göktaş said: “The global economy is being restructured.

Production methods are changing. Digitalization is transforming labor markets. Artificial intelligence, data economy, green transformation and new technologies are completely redefining the development strategies of countries. According to the World Economic Forum, 170 million new jobs will be created globally by 2030. In contrast, 92 million existing jobs are expected to change or disappear due to technological and economic transformations.

This chart clearly shows how artificial intelligence and digitalization are reshaping labor markets. On the other hand, green transformation has become central to development strategies. According to International Energy Agency data, global energy investments will exceed 3 trillion dollars for the first time in 2024, while 2 trillion dollars of this will be directed to clean energy technologies and infrastructure. This picture reveals a new reality for countries.

Societies that read change correctly, manage it and transform it into production will have a strong place in the economy of the future. “Those who remain outside this process will lose their competitiveness.” Minister Göktaş pointed out that there is a clearer truth here and stated that societies that exclude women from this great transformation will have given up half of their own production power, innovation capacity and future claim, and therefore ensuring the full and effective participation of women in production, employment, finance, technology and decision-making mechanisms is one of the most strategic elements of achieving global development goals.

Stating that social welfare will be strengthened in every society where women have a stronger connection with knowledge, skills, capital and decision-making mechanisms, Göktaş said, “Every policy that makes women’s potential visible creates value for the whole society. Every mechanism that supports women entrepreneurship brings vitality to the economy. Every investment that increases women’s digital skills puts countries at the forefront of the new economy.

Therefore, women’s empowerment is a strategic issue that stands at the center of development.” he said. – “We have strengthened women’s rights with constitutional and legal regulations in the last 24 years.” Göktaş stated that, as Turkey, they approach women’s empowerment from this broad perspective and see women’s equal access to rights and opportunities as one of the basic elements of social welfare, sustainable development and a strong future.

Noting that this vision has turned into the ideal of a Turkey in which women have a stronger place in all areas of life, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Göktaş said: “Today, thanks to this strong leadership, Turkey is moving forward with a determined political will that accepts women’s labor, knowledge and production power as the essential element of development. In the last 24 years, we have strengthened women’s rights through constitutional and legal regulations.

We have created a multidimensional policy framework from education to employment, from entrepreneurship to social services, from combating violence to digital security. The Women’s Empowerment Strategy Document and Action Plan, covering the period 2024-2028, is the concrete road map of this approach. “With this document, we have created a comprehensive implementation basis that aims to ensure a stronger participation of women in education, economy, leadership, health, media, environment, technology and decision-making processes.” Göktaş stated that they established Coordination Boards to carry out their work in an effective and coordinated manner at the central and local levels, and continued: “With this understanding, on March 8, we shared our vision of ‘Women’s Move in Sustainable Development’ with the public as a common outcome of all our work.

This vision is a new development perspective based on innovation, competitiveness and efficiency. We have opened the doors to a new era of development in which not only women’s labor, but also women’s wisdom, knowledge, leadership and innovation are more visible in the business world. We prioritized the qualified and sustainable employment of women as well as increasing their participation in the workforce. We have taken steps to facilitate women’s access to the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

“We have transformed women’s entrepreneurship into success stories ranging from idea to market, from local to global, with projects that strengthen access to financial resources, expand education and mentoring networks, and make it easier to open up to digital markets.” Stating that they transformed women’s labor into brands and their ideas into value with the “Rising Women: My Own Work, My Trace” program, Göktaş said, “With the 1366 women’s cooperatives we pioneered in establishing, we encouraged the active participation of thousands of women in production, local development and social solidarity.

With the ‘Young Women Building Their Future Project’, we supported the transition of young women in both education and employment to the workforce through vocational training and mentoring mechanisms. “We worked to ensure a stronger participation of women in high value-added sectors such as energy, clean technology and green economy.” Stating that the 2025 Year of the Family is a powerful period in which women bring their labor, ideas and entrepreneurial power to the center of development, Göktaş explained that they have strengthened women’s participation in economic life with policies that ensure balance between work and family life, and that they have taken steps to popularize nurseries and day care centers to increase women’s permanence in employment.

Stating that they expanded the social policy steps that strengthen women, family and population with birth supports, Göktaş stated that they brought motherhood and working life together on a safer ground by extending maternity leaves, and that the 10 Years of Family and Population will be a new breakthrough period for policies that strengthen women, protect the family and strengthen the population structure. – “We have to increase the number of women who not only use technology, but also design and direct it.” Minister Göktaş emphasized that another area that needs to be particularly emphasized today is digital transformation, and said, “We believe that women should be at the table while the codes of this new era are being written, from artificial intelligence to data science, from cyber security to green technologies.

We know that we have to increase the number of women who not only use technology, but design it, not only follow it, but also direct it. For this, conscious policies, targeted investments and education models that support girls from an early age are needed. In this context, we support young girls’ journeys in the field of engineering with the ‘Turkey’s Engineer Girls Project’.” he said. Stating that they aim to have a stronger presence of girls and young women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields with studies such as the “Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Program”, Göktaş stated that their aim is for women to be more visible, better equipped and more effective in the professions of the future.

Göktaş stated that while they expand the opportunities of digital transformation for women, they also manage its risks carefully, adding: “Online violence, digital exclusion, data-based discrimination and inequalities in access to technology are serious issues of the new era. Therefore, ensuring that women take part in the digital world safely, effectively and productively is one of the indispensable agendas of social policies.” he said.

– “A more just future will rise with the help of women” Stating that the ongoing conflicts, disasters, migration movements and economic vulnerabilities in many parts of the world heavily affect the lives of women and girls, Göktaş said, “We see this reality most severely in Gaza today. On this occasion, I would like to convey my greetings to all the women who stand up despite what happened in Gaza, heal the wounds with mercy and enable us to carry the hope of the future.” he said.

Göktaş stated that women often carry the resilience of both the family and the society in times of crisis and said, “Today, it is clear that we have to strengthen the role of women in humanitarian aid, development, peace and reconstruction processes. Increasing the resilience of women means increasing the capacity of societies to get back on their feet. Bringing women’s voices to decision-making mechanisms is to accelerate post-crisis recovery.

“Protecting women’s education and livelihood opportunities means breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty.” made his assessment. Noting that this approach makes international cooperation even more important, Göktaş said, “Just as no country can solve the issue of women’s empowerment alone, no society will be able to build a sustainable future by ignoring the potential of women. What we need today is not just more dialogue.

“They are common standards, common goals, traceable commitments and collaborations reflected in the field.” he said. Stating that they discussed all these issues in detail in the meetings they held at the summit, Göktaş said, “We must jointly grow policies that strengthen women’s access to education, employment, entrepreneurship, technology, finance and safe life. We must share good practices, disseminate successful models, and turn international solidarity into permanent mechanisms.

As Türkiye, we will continue our work in this field with determination. We will continue to work for a future in which women have a stronger place in science, technology, academia, diplomacy and economy. “We are ready to strengthen these efforts with global collaborations.” he said. Göktaş emphasized that a more just world, as pointed out by President Erdoğan, will definitely be established, and said, “A more just future will rise with the hands of women.

I hope that the Global Women’s Summit will create a new momentum by strengthening international solidarity in policies for women and girls. I hope it will create a new momentum towards achieving the common goals we have set.” he said. – Notes from the summit At the opening of the summit, Fauna Youth Choir gave a short concert. Then, the video of the summit held in Berlin was shown. Daniela Weber-Rey, Anja Seng and Annette Matzat, host committee members of last year’s summit, made a speech about the importance of the 2025 Summit.

Then, Turkish Host Committee Co-Chairs Ümran Beba and Gülden Türktan gave a speech. Afterwards, Summit President Irene Natividad and IPU Secretary General Anda Filip also made evaluations about the agenda of the summit. The “2026 Global Women’s Summit”, organized by the GlobeWomen Research and Training Institute, headquartered in Washington DC, the capital of the USA, is being held in Istanbul, hosted by Turkey, after 15 years.

At the summit, attended by ministers and government officials from 45 different countries, sessions were held to discuss the development of international business networks, sharing of good practices for career and business growth, and innovative solutions that will support the global economic advancement of women. 16There are 54 geographically registered foods among the products offered for sale at the Gastronomy House, where the traditional flavors of Hatay are introduced.

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56There are 54 geographically registered foods among the products offered for sale at the Gastronomy House, where the traditional flavors of Hatay are introduced. 66There are 54 geographically registered foods among the products offered for sale at the Gastronomy House, where the traditional flavors of Hatay are introduced.