Despite the progress made, 122 million girls currently still do not have access to education, and gender inequalities are partly to blame. Many young people are also forced to drop out of school due to societal and economic challenges such as unplanned pregnancies, forced marriages or financial difficulties.
Taking this into account, Wallonia-Brussels in Geneva co-organised a side event entitled ‘Advancing the right to education through transformative curricula on the topic of gender’ on 23 September 2024, as part of the 57th session of the Human Rights Council. The event, co-organised with UNESCO-IBE and co-sponsored by Benin, Luxembourg, Portugal, the OIF and the NGO Women Phenomenal Global, was a success, with over 40 people, including many from permanent missions, in attendance.
The panel included the following speakers:
- Ms Sharon Weinblum, Delegate General of Wallonia-Brussels in Geneva
- Mr Henri Monceau, Permanent Representative of the OIF
- Ms Joana Fisher, Deputy Permanent Representative and Chargé d'affaires a.i., Portugal
- Mr Svein Oesttveit, Director a.i. of UNESCO-IBE
- Ms Liza Sekaggya of Phenomenal Women Global
- H.E. Mr Angelo Dan, Permanent Representative of Benin
- Mr Geoffrey Le Clercq of the General Administration of Education of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation
The main objective of the event was to discuss how to concretely improve access to education to all and promote gender equality. The topics ranged from stereotypes encountered in STEM subjects, to reproductive health and access to menstrual hygiene products. Emphasis was placed on tackling the root of gender inequality in education systems by changing the curriculum so as to truly transform our societies and make them more inclusive and sustainable in the future.