CAREC Women’s Business Forum 2025 Highlights Gender-Transformative Green Innovation and Technologies

On 21 October 2025, OSCE Academy representatives participated in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Women’s Business Forum 2025, dedicated to the theme Together for Green Innovation and Gender Equality. The event took place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and brought together key experts on gender equality and green innovation, awardees of the CAREC Gender and Green Innovation Awards 2025, members of the Regional Gender Expert Group, and development partners. The event was co-organized with the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, UNDP in the Kyrgyz Republic, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), OJSC Eldik Bank, and Unison Group.

The forum was structured into four panel sessions, each co-hosted with partner organizations and featuring distinguished speakers and awardees from across the region. Faculty members of the OSCE Academy contributed to Session 1 titled “From Evidence to Action: Advancing Gender and Green Innovation in CAREC Climate Pathways.” Dr. Sebastian Mayer, the DAAD Associate Professor at the OSCE Academy, opened the session with welcoming remarks and provided an overview of the Academy's dedication to promoting gender and green innovation. Following this introduction, Dr. Roman Vakulchuk, a Visiting Lecturer at the OSCE Academy and Head of the Climate and Energy Group at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), facilitated the session. The lineup of speakers included Dr. Burulcha Sulaimanova, Head of the Research and Training Department at the OSCE Academy; Mr. Sadiq Syed, Country Representative of UN Women in the Kyrgyz Republic; Ms. Tara Uzra Dawood, Founder and Chairperson of Ladiesfund and a CAREC individual awardee from Pakistan; and Ms. Khayala Miriyeva, CEO of Climasel, a CAREC organizational awardee from Azerbaijan.

The three additional sessions were as follows: 
1. “Financing Women-Led Green Innovation: Gender-Responsive Solutions for Climate Resilience,” co-hosted with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). 
2. “Driving Climate Resilience through Gender-Responsive Policies and Green Innovation,” co-hosted with the UNDP office in the Kyrgyz Republic. 
3. “Driving Climate Solutions Through Women-Led Green Innovation,” co-hosted with Eldik Bank. 

At the end of the forum, Ms. Zulfia Karimova, Principal Regional Cooperation Specialist at CWRD, ADB, delivered her closing speech, and all participants gathered for a group photo and for further networking during lunch. 

The CAREC Women’s Business Forum is organized under the CAREC Gender Strategy 2030, which promotes women empowerment by ensuring that regional projects address women's needs and provide equal access to benefits and opportunities. 

The CAREC Gender Strategy is part of the broader CAREC Program, launched in 2001 and supported by ADB. The program brings together countries and development partners to advance development through regional cooperation in Central and West Asia.

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