DSW is a proud partner of the European Week of Action for Girls (#eugirlsweek), an annual week-long event taking place in Brussels which aims to raise awareness of and advocate for girls’ rights and empowerment to be at the heart of the EU’s external action.
Now in its sixth year, the European Week of Action for Girls is organised by a coalition of eight civil society organisations working on topics linked to gender equality, girls and women’s empowerment and/or children’s and youth rights, notably in development cooperation and humanitarian settings.
DSW and the European Week of Action for Girls
We’re delighted to be hosting two events for the Week of Action this year, focusing on the importance and value of getting young people involved in promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights among their peers. More information on an event we are working on with Dance4Life and the European Commission will be available soon, and be sure to check the European Week of Action for Girls website.
As we have mentioned before, 2016 is an important year for DSW. We are celebrating our 25th birthday as an organisation, with a series of event staking place across our offices in Europe and eastern Africa. To mark the occasion in Brussels, and to tie it in with the European Week of Action for Girls, we are hosting a 25th birthday party at our offices on October 12. If you are in town during the Week, you can register for the event here!
Speakers at the birthday reception will include:
- Nils Behrndt, Head of Cabinet for Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for International Cooperation & Development
- Renate Baehr, DSW Executive Director
- Jackline Waweru, a youth activist from Mombasa, Kenya
We will also be unveiling a new mural by the renowned design team at De Kwekerij, commissioned specially for our anniversary and for the European Week of Action for Girls!
The overall objective of the European Week of Action for Girls is to ensure that the EU supports girls’ empowerment, protects their rights, promotes their interests through the right policies, funding and programmes, and recognises the active role girls play in their communities and societies.
Girls Count: Ideas + Investment = Impact
This years’ edition of the Week of Action will put the focus on how the EU should maintain and increase its investments in external action towards the mobilisation of resources and specific budgeting for empowering girls and protecting their rights. The Week of Action 2016 will bring attention to funding gaps, and look to solutions for bridging these gaps, in order to ensure that EU policies are delivering on their commitments and what girls really need.
European Week of Action for Girls: background
At present, 195 countries have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Article 4 of the Convention states that “States Parties should designate the maximum amount of available resources toward the realisation of the rights of all children without exception”. By signing the CRC, they have committed to investing in children from birth, to help them have a full, healthy and safe life. Equally, 187 countries have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), affirming fundamental human rights and equality for all women and girls around the globe and requiring all parties to promote and achieve progress for women and girls.
Deciding where scarce public resources go indicates the political priorities of governments; investing to secure the rights of children – and girls in particular – is no different. As well as making a political point about what is important to a government, financing for girls also contributes to the economic, social, political and cultural development of a country.
Why investing in girls?
The lack of sufficient, efficient and equitable investment in children and adolescents in many countries is one of the biggest barriers to realising children’s rights. Not only does this slow the socio-economic development of those countries, but it also fails to recognise the huge potential that girls and young women have to act as drivers of development in their communities.So much of this is a missed opportunity. Investing in girls has high economic and social returns. When practices such as early marriage and female genital mutilation stop, girls are healthier, wealthier and able to make choices for their future.
Completing an extra year of primary school can boost a girl’s future income by 10% to 20%; an extra year of secondary school can add a further 15% to 25% to potential future earnings. For instance: If India enrolled 1% more girls in secondary school, their GDP would rise by $5.5 billion. When girls and women are in paid work, statistics show that they reinvest 90% of it in their families. They spend that money on vital resources like books, medicine, bed nets, empowered to become drivers of change in their communities and countries, creating a strong future economy, and breaking the cycle of poverty that disproportionately affects girls.
What role for the EU?
The EU and its Member States share a responsibility – stemming from its international commitments and its role as one of the leading supporters of global development and first global donor – to ensure that policies are translated into transparent, participatory and accountable budgets and spending for the promotion, protection and realisation of the rights of the child, and especially the girl child.
The world’s 600 million girls are our greatest return on investment. The time has come to back international rhetoric and policy commitments with smart and targeted investment in girls’ empowerment. As a global policy-maker and promoter of human rights, the EU has an opportunity to be a world leader in investing in girls and contributing to achieving their rights and empowerment – at home and abroad.
For more information, visit www.europeanweekofactionforgirls.org
