8th Annual ACO Gender Conference held at SHAPE

MONS, Belgium – Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) hosted the eighth annual Allied Command Operations (ACO) Gender Conference, at the headquarters on Jan. 23 to 24, 2019 with over 43 participants from around the globe.

Gender advisors from across ACO representing over 17 nations, as well as representatives from Japan, Australia and Sweden, convened to discuss a number of issues including gender in Article 5, NATO's principle of Collective Defence.

"It is on these few occasions that we get the chance to come together as Gender Advisors and take those individuals who work day-to-day advising their Commanders and come together as a community to find out what is working and how we can best support each other," said SHAPE Gender Advisor, Major Sanja Pejovic. "This conference was such a success in reinvigorating NATO Gender Advisors and showing how to overcome many of the challenges that they each face."

Gender Advisors from across the Alliance, including partner nations; meet on an annual basis to exchange information and experiences as well as best practices, achievements and challenges. NATO demonstrates its commitment to gender equality through the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security.

At the 2014 Wales Summit, Allied leaders acknowledged that the integration of gender perspectives throughout NATO's three essential core tasks (i.e. collective defence, crisis management and cooperative security) will contribute to a more modern, ready and responsive NATO.

Story by SHAPE Public Affairs Office