Care is at the centre of everyone’s lives and the glue that keep societies together. It is in the everyday, in homes, in families, in communities, and where inequalities are most deeply felt and most persistently reproduced. Across Europe and Central Asia, women spend three times more of their lives on unpaid care and domestic work. This is a matter of power, opportunity and choice. It means less time to lead, to earn, to participate in public life, and to shape the decisions that affect their futures. It is also a space of profound inequalities that we need to reverse.

This is precisely why we are coming together around the Europe and Central Asia Regional Care Forum. Because without addressing care, we cannot advance gender equality. We need care to be recognized, reduced and redistributed and we need care systems, policies, investments and reinvented social norms, that make equality the default, not the exception.

The Care Forum, the first of its kind in the region, brings together experience, vision and leadership from governments, civil society, the academia and the UN system. It is more than a platform for dialogue; it is a compass to guide us and accelerate action toward transformative, gender-responsive and inclusive care systems, in line with Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development.

We are proud to host you in Istanbul, a city that has long connected epochs and civilizations, as we come together to build connections of our own: between policies and people, between evidence and action, and between today’s commitments and tomorrow’s realities.

UN Women Europe and Central Asia team welcomes you wholeheartedly.

Belen Sanz Luque

UN Women Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia