The five regional commissions of the United Nations-ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP and ESCWA-jointly organized a Round Table entitled "Dialogue between NGOs and Governments: For a gender-sensitive citizenship", on 7 June 2000 in New York.  It was one of the events held during the Special Session of the General Assembly of the UN on Beijing + 5.

The main objective of this dialogue, presided by Danuta Hübner, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), was to show both the diversity and commonality of situations around the world, in terms of relationships between civil society movements and Governments, and to draw lessons to promote these relationships.

The Round Table was addressed five by keynote speakers, representing each region: H.R.H. Princess Basma Bint Talal of Jordan, as a guest of honor; Winny Biyanyima, Member of Parliament, Uganda; Gina Vargas, Latin American Coordinator for the NGO Forum IV World Conference on Women at Beijing, Peru; Laura Balbo, former Minister of Equal   Opportunities in Italy and Dean of the Italian College of Sociologists; and H.E. Supatra Masdit, Minister to the Prime Minister's Office of Thailand.  The last speaker was also the coordinator of the NGO Forum in Beijing at the time of the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995.