Xinhua Agency, Montevideo, October 9 (Reporter Wang Zhongyi and Meng Dingbo)"The influence of the Beijing Declaration and Plan of Action is far-reaching and lasting, and we can still feel it in many places in the world." Lucie Garrido, a well-known Uruguayan social activist and journalist who participated in the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, said in an interview with a reporter from Xinhua Agency in Montevideo, the capital of Uzbekistan.

"Thirty years ago, the World Women's Conference in Beijing made great contributions to promoting the cause of gender equality worldwide. This is one of the most important events in my career," Garrido said.

On September 25, Uruguay¡¯s renowned social activist and journalist Lucy Garrido received an interview with Xinhua news agency in Uruguay¡¯s capital Montevideo.

Garrido was then the Latin American and Caribbean media coordinator for the Beijing World Conference on Women. She recalled that 30 years ago, for most Latin Americans, China was still a mysterious and distant country. "In Beijing, we met with activists, government and non-governmental organizations from China and other parts of the world to discuss issues such as gender equality and women's rights, and finally adopted the historic Beijing Declaration and Action Plan."

The Beijing Declaration and the Action Programme responded to the concerns of women around the world at the time, providing targets and concrete measures for action in the fields of gender equality and women¡¯s empowerment.

¡°After the meeting, when I returned to my office, a cleaner came excitedly to congratulate me, saying she saw on television that at the other end of the world, during the Beijing Women¡¯s Congress, a seminar was held on protecting the rights of female domestic workers, which was closely related to her work.¡±

On September 4, 1995, the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, China. This is the venue of the welcoming ceremony held by the Chinese government in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women (file photo). Xinhua News Agency

Garrido is looking forward to the upcoming Global Women's Summit in Beijing. She said that 30 years have passed since the Beijing World Women's Conference, and the global women's cause has made great progress, while facing new challenges. "It is necessary to hold a global women's conference again this year."

"Compared with 30 years ago, the economic, social environment and science and technology have changed dramatically around the world, which has brought new challenges to women's rights," she said.

Garida hopes that the Global Women¡¯s Summit will inherit the spirit of the Beijing Women¡¯s Conference and further promote the cause of gender equality worldwide. In her view, the Beijing Women¡¯s Conference is not only a milestone in the global cause of women and gender equality, but also a model for multinational representatives to work together to solve global women¡¯s development issues and promote multilateralism.

"China's contribution to safeguarding the international system with the United Nations at its core and promoting multilateralism is beyond doubt." Garrido said that promoting the development of women's cause is a major topic of the United Nations. "I believe that the upcoming Global Women's Summit will open a new chapter for the cause of women and gender equality in the world."