62  //  HUMAN DIMENSION MEETINGS HUMAN DIMENSION MEETINGS The 57 OSCE participating States have decided to review and discuss the application of their commitments in the human dimension of security at annual meetings called human dimension meetings. This year marked the 21st large-scale Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) organized in Warsaw for this purpose. In 2017, five human dimension meetings took place, with nearly 2,000 participants in total. Participants included representatives of participating States (official delegations), OSCE Partners for Co-operation, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), international organizations, the OSCE institutions and executive structures, civil society and non-governmental organizations, as well as academics and the media. One of the unique features of Human Dimension Meetings is that civil society representatives take an active role in these meetings, forming the largest group of participants. In 2017, a record 930 representatives of civil society attended. Among them were large international non-governmental organizations, small citizens groups and human rights activists and defenders. Their participation is important because civil society actors play a vital role in implementing and safeguarding human dimension commitments in the OSCE area, by reporting human rights violations and helping to translate human dimension commitments into practice in local communities. ODIHR’s human dimension meetings provide unique opportunities for these Ambassador Christian Strohal, Special Representative for the OSCE's Austrian Chairmanship, delivering a speech at the closing plenary session of the 2017 OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, Warsaw, 22 September 2017. (OSCE/Maria Kuchma). individuals and organizations to meet face-to-face and have their voices heard by their own governments and the international community. Participants of human dimension meetings are encouraged to organize side events on relevant human dimension issues to facilitate informal discussions between different partners. HDIM participants actively utilized this opportunity in 2017, organizing more than 89 side events during the two-week long meeting. Eight were organized during the three supplementary meetings and two during the human dimension seminar. ODIHR Director Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir addresses participants at the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation meeting, Warsaw, 11 September 2017. (OSCE/Maria Kuchma).