Summary: EU Competition: EU Commission calls on children around the world to express their vision of gender equality (8 March 2007: Brussels)
On the occasion of 2007 Women's International Day 2007, the European Commission has launched a competition calling on children in third countries to express their vision of women/men equality. Their participation will testify the creativity, enthusiasm and the integration of the concept of "gender" in the spirit of the children, and more particularly in those of the age group 8-10, in the third countries. A prize of € 1.000 per region (Africa Caribbean Pacific, Latin America, Asia and the
European Neighbourhood-Mediterranean region) will be offered to the winner and his school.
European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner said on the occasion of the International Women's Day: "Around the world women continue to suffer horrific domestic violence, discrimination and persecution. Discussing their plight is often taboo, but on International Women's Day it is our responsibility to bring it out into the open. Protecting women's rights and empowering them as decision-makers are fundamental principles of the
European Union's work across the globe.
Wherever we work we take women's rights into account. From the Maghreb to Bangladesh to Colombia we are promoting women's participation in political life; fighting trafficking of women and children; and tackling harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation, honor killings and forced marriage. Even a project on sustainable forestry or earthquake reconstruction has a specific component to empower women.
This work must and will continue. Abuses of women's rights - women's human rights - are simply unacceptable. On International Women's Day we signal to those complicit in such abuses that they do not go unnoticed. Our objective must be for women's rights to be respected and protected throughout the world. That is what will continue to guide my work in the months and years to come."
To learn more, please visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/projects/gender/index_en.htm
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