The Crown Princess, in her role as chairman of The Mary Foundation, takes part in the conference, which has the objective of establishing exchanges of knowledge and experience across cultures and nationalities – ultimately, to stop violence against women. HM Queen Máxima of The Netherlands also participates in the conference.

The Crown Princess is the keynote speaker at the conference on 5 November, and The Mary Foundation will also hold two workshops about its work with domestic violence during the conference. In addition to that, the conference will include a number of workshops on topics relating to the complex problem, including empowerment of women affected by violence, international cooperation on the issue, and opportunities to influence the international agenda. 

The Crown Princess took part in the 2nd World Conference of Women’s Shelters in 2012 in Washington and has, for a number of years, committed herself to the task of opposing violence against women – as chairman of The Mary Foundation, as a member of the High Level Task Force for the ICPD (International Conference on Population and Development), and as patron of both the UN Population Fund and Maternity Worldwide. 

The conference was last held in Washington, DC, USA in 2012 and in Alberta, Canada in 2008. The Global Network of Women’s Shelters (GNWS) is behind the conference, which is organized in cooperation with local organizations.