Celebrating International Women’s Day with the EU and UN
Art is a powerful tool to push for change – it speaks from the heart and opens up complex policy spaces to new audiences, making these spaces more accessible to the general public.
To commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day (8 March), WECF with European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) are staging a 100% virtual exhibition entitled Artivism for Gender Equality. The exhibition consists of 25 posters that celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most visionary agenda for women’s rights and empowerment across the world. It highlights struggles for gender equality and women’s rights in Europe, the United States of America, Canada, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
The exhibition was displayed at the regional Civil Society Forum which gathered 410 participants and the official Regional Review Meeting with 867 delegates at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on 28-30 October 2019. Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF) cooperates with the UN Women’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia; engaging women’s rights and gender equality organisations in the follow-up policy process of Beijing, bringing their vision and priorities to this year’s Generation Equality Forums in Mexico and Paris.
The virtual exhibition will be opened by Sascha Gabizon, WECF’s Executive Director, jointly with EESC President Christa Schweng and Vice-President Cillian Lohan (moderation). The event will be streamed live on Monday 8 March at 13:30 – 14:15 via https://streamyard.com/qi2ewmjmu4 Guest instructions can be found here: https://streamyard.com/resources/docs/guest-instructions/
The event will close with a musical performance by the young soloist Tamara Mozes.
Gender Equality at UN Environment
Earlier on the 8th of March, The United Nations Environment Programme is hosting a panel debate to celebrate International Women’s Day. Inger Andersen UNEP Executive Director will discuss on the theme of “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world” to celebrate the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussants include the Minister of Environment and Climate of Norway, Mr. Sveinung Rotevatn, as President of UNEA 5, as well as Sascha Gabizon, Executive Director of WECF. The event will be moderated by Janet Kabeberi-Macharia, Head of Gender and Safeguards Unit, UNEP.
The online exhibition, which will run from 8 to 31 March 2021 on the EESC’s website and social media channels, is being staged as a cultural partnership between the EESC’s Directorate for Communication and Interinstitutional Relations and its Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship (SOC). The event is also being held in cooperation with COPEC (Joint Committee for Equal Opportunities).
More information can be found here