WISE session at European Development Days: “Women and Girls at the Forefront of Sustainable Development: protect, empower, invest”

WISE held a session at European Development Days (EDD), Europe’s leading forum on international cooperation and development, on June 6, 2018. EDD has been organized annually by the European Commission since 2006, attracting more than 8,000 participants from over 140 countries. Participants representing 1,200 organizations from the development community share ideas and experiences to inspire new partnerships and innovate solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

Speakers

Dr. Asmaa Alfadala

Dr. Asmaa Alfadala

World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE)
Qatar

Asif Saleh

Asif Saleh

BRAC and BRAC International
Bangladesh

Noëlla Coursaris Musunka

Noëlla Coursaris Musunka

Malaika
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ann Cotton

Ann Cotton

Camfed
United Kingdom

Program

Women and Girls at the Forefront of Sustainable Development: protect, empower, invest

 

The agenda addressed economic and social rights, physical and psychological integrity, and strengthening girls’ and women’s voice and participation. This issue is important and urgent, as UNDP statistics show that women perform 66% of the world’s work, yet earn only 10% of the income, with an average of only 60–75% of men’s wages.

“In the poorest and most marginalized places, women’s latent power to achieve smaller and more sustainable families converts to actual power with education,” Ann Cotton, Founder of Camfed.

The WISE session, “Empowering Women to be Change-Makers,” highlighted the ripple effect of investing in education for girls and equipping them with the necessary skills to lead and change. The session was selected from an international call for contributions and marks the second time that WISE has participated in EDD. Contributing to this major event in Europe, WISE participates in the build-up of the international framework to rethink and improve education to adapt to a fast-changing world. WISE supports the EU policy in the field of education, addressing common challenges, such as aging societies, skills deficits in the workforce, and technological developments.