Bhubaneswar: Women’s safety and empowerment must be pursued together through strong institutions, effective implementation and collective responsibility, deputy chief minister Pravati Parida said on Tuesday, while inaugurating Shakti Summit here.“Women’s safety and women’s empowerment cannot be addressed in isolation. They must move together through strong institutions, effective implementation and collective responsibility,” Parida said, stressing the need for greater coordination among states and the Centre.She said the three-day summit would provide an important platform for states to learn from each other, strengthen convergence and work towards ensuring that every woman can live with safety, dignity and opportunity.Organised by National Commission for Women (NCW) in collaboration with the Odisha govt, the summit brought together 29 senior officers at the level of secretary, commissioner, director and joint director from 22 states and Union Territories.NCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar, addressing the inaugural session, outlined the vision of the summit and called for sustained collective action and stronger institutional mechanisms to advance women’s safety, protection and empowerment across the country.The summit will focus on strengthening implementation mechanisms, sharing successful state-level interventions and fostering institutional collaboration to address emerging challenges related to women’s safety and protection.It will also facilitate sharing of best practices, identification of implementation gaps and discussions on actionable strategies for strengthening institutional mechanisms for women’s empowerment.NCW member-secretary Sudeep Jain, Odisha women and child development department commissioner-cum-secretary Mrinalini Darswal and Mission Shakti secretary Manasi Nimbhal were among those present at the inaugural session.