EU Office Blogs

The EU is still rightfully seen as a global gender equality champion and, although it is not an easy task, feminism should be at the heart of its foreign policy agenda, writes Serap Altinisik.

A blog by Serap Altinisik Last Friday, the 20th November, was the 31st anniversary of a true milestone for children’s rights - the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We definitely have progressed to celebrate over those 31 years, but we also still have a way to go to achieve the fulfilment of all rights for all children, especially girls. Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and I would like to highlight a particular challenge that especially girls and young women face these days: harassment and abuse online. Plan International recently published its report “Free to be online – Girls' and young women’s experiences of online harassment”, which is staggering.

Yah Vallah Parwon, Feminist and Co-Founder of Rising Youth Mentorship Initiative, shares her experience of girls’ and young women's activism and reflects on the importance of the research on 'Girls' and Young Women's Activism and Organising in West and Central Africa' as a guide for Plan International and other like-minded institutions to work with girls and youth.

Amy, Lina and Nea are three Plan International young advocates taking part in this year’s European Week of Action for Girls (EWAG). One of the main reasons for them to become part of EWAG, is that they want to make sure that girls and young women are not left behind, and that their voices and priorities are heard, in light of the EU-Africa Partnership, on topics such as health, education, economic empowerment, decision-making and freedom from violence. A few days have passed since the International Day of the Girl (IDG) and they wanted to share with us some reflections on why they decided to join EWAG, what they believe should be the steps for EU decision-makers to take to bring about progress for girls worldwide and how they are experiencing online advocacy towards the EU so far.

Jacqui, a youth activist from Tanzania who is fighting to ban child marriage in her home country, and Serap Altinisik, a lifelong feminist and Head of Office and EU Representative at Plan International EU Office, met during Serap’s country visit to Tanzania. Ahead of the International Day of the Girl, these two feminist activists are coming together again to share their mutual passion for girls’ rights and to share their thoughts on activism, their motivation, and the challenging journey they have faced in the fight for equality in a world where people don’t necessarily believe in the power of girls and women.

It’s that time of the year again: La Rentrée. But this year it looks rather different. This year we are returning to school and our workplaces masked and 2m apart. Despite interrupted holiday plans, I am returning to work (virtually) re-energised and with renewed motivation. I am ready to push harder and be bolder than ever over the coming months to try prevent the undoing of decades of progress in girls’ equality due to COVID-19. COVID-19 has laid bare the inequalities entrenched in our system, a system that fails to protect the most marginalised and that collapses when crisis hits. A system in which girls and adolescent girls are disproportionately exposed to risk, and were hit the hardest by COVID-19. Interrupted education and lack of protection systems mean they take on household tasks and caring roles; they risk early, child and forced marriage; and they face abuse and violence, including female genital mutilation. But despite all this, I have heard many great stories on how girls and young women have raised their voices all over the world to lead their communities through the crisis.

An interview with Gerrit Saen, Amalia Alarcón and Nicolas Rodriguez, Plan International, on the challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean and how to overcome them The COVID-19 pandemic is unravelling decades of progress on girls' equality. To stop the setback, Plan International is working hard in different regions of the world to ensure girls, young women, children and marginalised groups are protected and supported as the COVID-19 crisis unfolds. With the EU being among the main donors in humanitarian aid, we wanted to understand from our colleagues how the pandemic is unfolding in their regions and what they believe could be done for girls and young women in their region. ‘Plan International’s regional office working in Latin America and the Caribbean is not only prioritising migrant and refugee populations affected by the crisis, but also less visible problems such as gender-based violence, child marriage and early pregnancies’ – say Gerrit Saen, Regional Head of Business Development, Amalia Alarcón, Regional Head of Gender Transformative Programming & Influencing and Nicolas Rodriguez, Regional Head of DRM with whom we spoke on the main priorities they see whilst the COVID-19 crisis evolves in the region.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and at the start of the 16 days of activism, Serap Altinisik, Head of Office and EU Representative of Plan International and Salomé Guibreteau, Policy and Advocacy Officer, reflect on EU actions for girls’ and young women’s agency.

“We demand that the new European Commission secures equal rights for everyone – and that they work hard to smash the gender-gap, both inside and outside the European Union. Because the young girls living in this world should grow up having the exact same possibilities and rights as the young boys. I will fight hard to make that a reality.” Says Kira Marie Peter Hansen, a green feminist and the youngest Member of the European Parliament from Denmark. On International Day of the Girl, we wanted to know from Kira what motivated her to run and what she plans on doing for girls and gender equality in the upcoming five years.

Advancing gender equality and the rights of women and girls is an important foreign policy goal for my country Finland. Our Government Programme, dated 6 June 2019, states that Finland will pursue a human rights-based foreign and security policy. It is the first time we have such a wording in the most influential document guiding our policies. Of course, we have been systematically working for gender equality for a long time. But having this commitment in the Government Programme while holding the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, definitely is a great opportunity and inspiration for us.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is now 53 years old. It is not ‘young’ per the definitions of youth you will find used by UN agencies and other authorities on the subject. But in part, and piece by piece, it is striving to become ‘youthful’.

Blog by Jennifer Klot, Head of Office of the Plan International UN Office in New York - The United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the largest international gathering of women government leaders from around the world. This year, the CSW’s 63rd session in New York (11-22 March 2019) included more than 5,000 representatives from civil society organisations, nearly 2,000 Member State delegates, and 86 ministers. At its closing session on 22 March 2019, the Commission celebrated the adoption of Agreed Conclusions establishing new international standards and strategies to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls across three priority themes: social protection systems, access to public services, and sustainable infrastructure. The Agreed Conclusions address how the design of public services and infrastructure shapes girls’ access to education, their safety, and their participation. They recognise the gender specific barriers that girls face, including negative social norms and stereotypes, and harmful practices such as child early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation. Establishing interlinkages across the three themes, the Agreed Conclusions also recognise the need to ensure access to safe and affordable drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for all women and girls: in their homes, in schools and in all other public and private spheres.

In the week of 5th November, we held the first Global Training on Education in Emergencies(EiE) in Plan International in Dakar, Senegal. Participants came from Plan Country Offices, National Offices, Liaison Offices, Global and Regional Hubs. It was a time for reflection, sharing and learning. What an interesting agenda we had – presentations from country offices, gallery walks where we all had the opportunity to showcase the work that we are most proud of, and learning on how to do our work better.

Yesterday’s Global Girls' Summit in Brussels brought together young girls from around the world to put the spotlight on what needs to be done to overcome the barriers girls still face. It was inspiring to hear girls' ideas on how to respect, protect and enforce their rights. Girls' participation in and contribution to the Summit is another confirmation of what we already know: girls have what it takes to become entrepreneurs, doctors, decision-makers, teachers, agents of change – in other words – to become whoever they want to be.

Education is the foundation for everything else. This is my core belief. Education is also a fundamental right and an important tool for protection in humanitarian crises. Regrettably and despite its importance, access to quality education is being denied to tens of millions of children by increasingly protracted conflicts, forced displacement, violence, climate change, and disasters. As a result, we have sadly witnessed lost generations affecting the stability and development of entire regions. We have no other option but to address this major issue head on. We owe it to all vulnerable children around the globe.

On 5th and 6th June, the International Development community came together in Tour et Taxis in Brussels for the 12th edition of the European Development Days (EDDs). This year, the European Commission aimed to bring together the EU's commitment to gender equality and women's empowerment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This is a matter close to Plan International’s heart, given our ambition to ensure that 100 million girls will be able to learn, lead, decide and thrive by 2022. During these two days, colleagues from across Plan International were involved in a wide range of activities and presented alternatives as to how the EU can stop the global rollback of girls' rights.

It’s that time of year again. Gym memberships are peaking, and everyone is vowing to do better by setting new ambitious goals for themselves. Imagine if the people who have the power to improve millions of lives around the world did the same, by keeping people and planet at the heart of all their decisions?

Tanya Cox shares her initial reflections on the proposal for a revised European Consensus on Development. While there is much to commend, the jury is still out on a number of key issues.

Petrider, 22, from Tanzania is on a mission to achieve gender equality

Radha, 21, from Bangladesh works to ensure that girls know their rights and raise their voices.

One year after the earthquake, child protection and education continue to be essential for recovery in Nepal, blogs Plan International' s Alexandra Makaroff.

For those of us working on girls’ rights it has been a busy month. From International Women’s Day on 8 March to the 60th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) being held in New York from 14 - 24 March, gender equality has been front and centre in our minds.

Alexandra Makaroff, Head of Plan International EU Office, reflects on the year to come and calls on the EU to ensure that in 2016, work starts to turn promises made to the world's girls into concrete changes.

In Brussels and beyond, we must work hard to transform the milestone promises of 2015 into concrete improvements in the lives of children, writes Head of Plan International EU Office, Alexandra Makaroff.

To mark Universal Children’s Day, 20 November 2015, Alexandra Makaroff, Head of Plan International EU Office, and Ester Asin, Director and EU Representative of Save the Children Brussels, call for increased action to realise every child’s right to protection from violence.

21-year-old Roma is a graduate of Plan International’s Saksham project, which provides job orientated vocational training for young people aged 18 to 29 from poor and disadvantaged communities in Delhi. We spoke to her about what life’s like for girls in her community, and how her life has changed since she found a job.

In a guest blog for #GirlsVoices, 15-year-old Yuma, from Nicaragua, says that women can be just as strong as men – if given the opportunity, in a world where they can feel safe.

June 5, 2015: Plan International's Heather Saunders talks about the role of connectivity and public-private partnerships to boost delivery of public goods in Africa.

December 9, 2014: The EP outlined its “priorities” in a resolution adopted on the post-2015 Framework.

October 20, 2014: From Malala to Mimica, It’s been a big month for girls’ rights, blogs Alexandra Makaroff.

Village savings and loans schemes provide poor and marginalised members of society with access to basic financial services that are safe, reliable and profitable.

EDF, DCI, EAR, ECHO…. They may just look like letters to you, but those little letters have a very important impact on the lives of millions of people in the world’s poorest countries.

European leaders must make good on their promises to the world’s children and put them at the heart of the 2014-2020 EU budget, according to international child rights and development organisations