"Inspiring Change"

Members of Research & Advocacy Team & Communication & Engagement Team participated in the event "Inspiring Change" held at India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi, India, on 10th March 2014. The event was jointly organised by EU Delegation to India and UN Women. The inaugural session was graced by presence of dignitaries from various embassies. Dr. João Cravinho, EU Ambassador to India & Bhutan, mentioned an MoU between UN Women & EU in his opening speech. Dr. Rada Boric from Croatia gave the Keynote address and spoke about women's rights scenario during wars. She mentioned the steps that Croatia had to take towards women's empowerment before being included in EU. She also spoke about the struggle & solidarity of women in her country & in neighbouring countries. She has interacted with several stakeholders in India and finds the challenges to be similar. She spoke of instances from Norway where women's empowerment led to increased profits. Spoke about her experiences as part of EU women's lobby.

Ms. Kamla Bhasin, Dr Rebecca Tavares (UN Women) advocated for a stand alone Gender Equality goal in Post 2015 SDGs. India has recently supported this idea. This was followed by a launch of an EU film and a panel discussion featuring Ms. Indira Jaisingh, Archana Sardana (sky jumper & deep sea diver), Kanchan Gaba (lawyer & scout, visually impaired) and Anju Pandey (UN Women). A UN Women Report that captured the voices of women across India, was also launched. The session on CSR, chaired by Ms. Sonia Srivastava (CSR Head, Intel) focused on how the companies deal with their women staff and their needs & challenges. The event also featured a series of success stories on women empowerment from rural India as an exhibit.