- Green Hope UAE celebrated International Women’s Day by hosting a panel of successful women leaders from within the UAE community, at the Change Initiative, Al Barsha.
- The event commenced with a key note speech by Verona Collantes that was streamed online from UN Women New York Head Office.
- Among the rich exchange of ideas, one key take away was of ‘thinking purple’ to tackle the modern issues of gender equality vis-à-vis pink for girls and blue for boys.
- The eight panelists included women CEOs, Managing Directors, Senior Managers, and successful women entrepreneurs who emphasized on the perception of gender equality.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 8th, 2015: On the eve on International Women’s Day, Green Hope UAE held a panel discussion aligning with this year’s theme “'Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity-Picture it’. The theme was adopted from UN Women’s Beijing Platform-for-Action campaign. Green Hope UAE is a not-for-profit, youth organization which promotes gender equality and female emancipation as the cornerstones of realizing a sustainable future. The organization proudly celebrated Women’s Day by bringing together, under one roof, empowered women from various walks of life, to share their stories of success, in order to motivate and guide civil society towards a world of equal opportunity for both men and women. The event started with streaming the key note address by Verona Collantes, from UN Women - New York Head Office. Ms. Collantes highlighted the importance of gender equality and said that, “it is important to make this only planet we live in, a prosperous, enjoyable and a safe place for all.” She emphasized on a common goal that “By 2030, our goal is for a PLANET 50:50. Let us all picture an equal world by empowering women and girls, so that in 2030 girls would have equal access to education as boys and the freedom to choose their field of study. Women will not have to die to give life”. The panel included several successful women leaders in the UAE, as below: 1. Ms. Elena Weber : Model & Founder of ICONS Coffee Couture
2. Ms. Anishkaa Gehani : Managing Director of Yardstick Marketing
3. Ms. Sandhya Prakash : CEO Beacon Energy & Founder of MEVEG
4. Ms. Aruna Narayanan : Senior Manager-Marketing & Customer Service DULSCO
5. Ms. Imane Sari : Head of CSR, CUMMINS Middle East
6. Ms. Enas Sobhy Ali: Head Of EnviroCare Department , TADWEER
7. Ms. Fatima Martin: Principal Al Diyafah School
8. Ms. Gwen Dickson: Events & Activity Coordinator , JSS Pvt School
Coming from different countries and backgrounds, these successful women leaders stressed that the battle for gender equality needed to start at home. It was observed that gender inequality was not just a problem of the global south; it remained rife in even the most developed nations. Each panelist addressed how women are portrayed in the current society. The one common thread from their speeches was that civil society needed a change in mindset. Sandhya Prakash, CEO of Beacon Energy & Founder of MEVEG, made a very though provoking point that , one needs to ‘think purple’ to tackle the modern issues of gender equality vis-à-vis pink for girls and blue for boys. Access to education was deemed to be the most important ingredient in empowering girls and women, who should have the same rights of choice as the opposite sex. The panelists also highlighted that gender equality would remain an unfulfilled dream without an active role and participation from the other half - men and boys. Another speaker and gender activist, Carmen Capriles, from Bolivia joined the event through her video message “Recognizing women’s rights and achieving equality - knowing that nobody is better than the other, but that we complement ourselves. There are no easy solutions, but we can do this together.”
This landmark event concluded with an active question and answer session where the audience proactively sought the views of the panelists on the subject of women’s emancipation. Green Hope UAE organized this event to assert their belief that as youth leaders it was their duty to make gender equality a reality.
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