ShareKUWAIT: In the last ten years, there has been increased attention on issues that matter to girls amongst governments, policymakers and the general public and more opportunities for girls to have their voices heard on the global stage. Yet, investments in girls' rights remain limited and girls continue to confront a myriad of challenges to fulfil their potential, made worse by the concurrent crises of climate change, COVID-19 and humanitarian conflict.
The Embassy of Canada, in collaboration with the British Embassy, United Nations Resident Coordinator Office, in coordination with UNDP, UNICEF and UN Women in Kuwait, have invited high school students to partake in the 'Young Ambassadors' initiative, which allows students to work with corresponding embassies. Through mentoring and leadership development over five months and exposure to diplomacy, the initiative provides students with an opportunity to share their ideas and initiatives to promote women's inclusion and empowerment in Kuwait and beyond.
Aliya Mawani, Ambassador of Canada, said: "When everyone in the society participates equally, communities are more prosperous and more secure. Everyone benefits. I'm so excited about this collaborative, intergenerational partnership to advance United Nations SDG 5 - promoting gender equality - which is also a core priority for Canada. Through this initiative, students in Kuwait will experience real-life diplomacy, develop leadership skills and gain support and tools to be confident and effective champions for gender equality. I can't wait to meet and learn from these Young Ambassadors."
Dr Tarek Elsheikh, United Nations Secretary General Representative and Resident Coordinator to Kuwait highlighted the United Nations agenda, "Adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life, not only during these critical formative years, but also as they mature into women. If effectively supported during the adolescent years, girls have the potential to change the world - both as the empowered girls of today and as tomorrow's workers, mothers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, and political leaders. An investment in realizing the power of adolescent girls upholds their rights today and promises a more equitable and prosperous future, one in which half of humanity is an equal partner in solving the problems of climate change, political conflict, economic growth, disease prevention, and global sustainability.
Girls are breaking boundaries and barriers posed by stereotypes and exclusion, including those directed at children with disabilities and those living in marginalized communities. As entrepreneurs, innovators and initiators of global movements, girls are creating a world that is relevant for them and future generations. The Young Ambassador Initiative is timely, it provides an opportunity for the youth to drive ambition towards a sustainable future for all. Only by ensuring the rights of women and girls across all the goals will we get to justice and inclusion, economies that work for all, and sustaining our shared environment now and for future generations".
Belinda Lewis, British Ambassador to Kuwait said, "Women and girls represent half of the world's population and therefore also half of its potential. But gender inequality persists and holds back progress in many countries. On International Day of the Girl Child, I am pleased to support the launch of the UN's Young Ambassador program to promote the importance of gender equality globally, as a key element of the Sustainable Development Goals. I'm looking forward to working with Kuwaiti partners on this important initiative."
Eltayeb Adam, UNICEF Representative to the Gulf Area, said: "At UNICEF, we are pleased to welcome and support the Young Ambassadors initiative. Girls are powerful leaders of change around the planet. They are challenging us to act on gender equality, climate action, and more. We must spare no effort to help them build a brighter future and safer world for our societies. There is also more than symbolism to today's launch on the 10th anniversary of International Day of the Girl. We are committed to supporting the Young Ambassadors throughout the program and beyond."
Khaled Shahwan, UNDP Kuwait DRR said: "We at UNDP are pleased to be part of this great initiative that will provide high school students with mentoring and leadership development opportunities and equip them with a better understanding of gender equality and women's empowerment within the context of Kuwait and beyond. We must all join forces to advance gender equality in all fields and at every level. Measures include removing gender stereotypes in education, raising awareness and offering career guidance to encourage girls consider studying in all fields without exception.
"The Globe needs women's skills and perspectives, talent and leadership, as much as those of men. We must all collaborate to close the gender gap. Only then girls and women will have better opportunities to advance and achieve an equal and better future. This initiative will contribute to the efforts already taken by Kuwait national development plans towards achieving national priorities and Global Agenda 2030."
With adversity, however, comes resourcefulness, creativity, tenacity, and resilience. The world's 600 million adolescent girls have shown time and time again that given the skills and the opportunities, they can be the changemakers driving progress in their communities, building back stronger for all, including women, boys and men.
Generation Equality is the world's leading initiative to accelerate investment and implementation of gender equality. It brings together organizations from every part of society to catalyze progress, advocate for change and take bold actions together. The Forum launched a 5-year action journey to achieve irreversible progress towards gender equality, founded on a series of concrete, ambitious and transformative actions, including $40 Billion in financial commitments.
According to UN Women, there is established and growing evidence that women's leadership in political decision-making processes improves them. For example, research on panchayats (local councils) in India discovered that the number of drinking water projects in areas with women-led councils was 62 percent higher than in those with men-led councils. In Norway, a direct causal relationship between the presence of women in municipal councils and childcare coverage was found.
Additionally, a limited number of studies have found connections between education and leadership. These studies generally suggest that as education increases, so do successful leadership behaviors. However, around the world, 129 million girls are out of school, including 32 million of primary school age, 30 million of lower-secondary school age, and 67 million of upper-secondary school age.
In countries affected by conflict, girls are more than twice as likely to be out of school than girls living in non-affected countries. Only 49 percent of countries have achieved gender parity in primary education. At the secondary level, the gap widens: 42 percent of countries have achieved gender parity in lower secondary education, and 24 percent in upper secondary education.
The reasons are many. Barriers to girls' education - like poverty, child marriage and gender-based violence - vary among countries and communities. Poor families often favor boys when investing in education. Thus, gender-equitable education system help keep both girls and boys in school, building prosperity for entire countries.
The initiative aims to give the youth the opportunity to build on their decision-making skills, problem-solving skills, and critical-thinking skills when tackling gender inequality. Additionally, this initiative aims to empower students through leadership development.
