Women’s participation in public life will be celebrated at a special event at the Spanish Embassy in Cairo on March’ 7.
The work of Spanish Co-operation in towards the attainment of UN Strategic Development Goal 5 – gender equality and women’s empowerment – will provide the theme of the event.
Spanish Ambassador to Egypt, Ramón Gil-Casares will open the reception, which will be moderated by General Coordinator of the Spanish Co-operation in Egypt, Ventura Rodríguez.
Egyptian women in leadership roles in public service, research and culture will take the floor, reviewing the challenges they faced during their careers and the opportunities offered by the current situation.
Amal Tawfik, who is Director of the Complaints Office of the National Council for Women will be among the guest speakers.
Tawfik is also a leading participant in the RAISA programme of the Spanish International Co-operation Agency for Development (AECID).
The RAISA programme is aimed at fostering women’s empowerment on the African continent and in the Middle East and Northern Africa regions.
Egyptologist Dr. Yasmin el-Shazly, who is Deputy Director for Research and Programmes at the American Research Centre in Egypt and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the American University in Cairo, will be addressing the reception.
Filmmaker Amal Ramsis, who is the founder of Cairo International Women’s Film Festival and the Between Women Filmmakers Caravan, will give a speech at the event.
There will be a screening of short films directed by Egyptian women and produced within the framework of the Between Women Filmmakers Caravan.
The Spanish Co-operation in Egypt pays special attention to gender equality and women’s empowerment, the embassy said.
In recent years, the institution has collaborated with public entities such as the National Council for Women to advance the gender agenda, the embassy added.
The Spanish Co-operation also supports Egyptian civil society organisations in their efforts to improve opportunities for women, carrying out more than 25 interventions in this sector.
In this regard, AECID promotes the RAISA Programme in order to foster women’s leadership in Africa and the Mediterranean, stimulating dialogue and exchanges of ideas in addition to promoting new areas of collaboration with Spain.
The Spanish Co-operation also backs culture as an instrument of social progress and defense of women’s rights. In numerous projects, such as Between Women Filmmakers Caravan and Drawing Gender Equality, cultural resources are used to address gender issues.
AECID’s ACERCA programme funded both initiatives.
