UfM and Women for Africa Foundation join forces to promote women’s participation in socio-economic life

The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Fathallah Sijilmassi, and the President of the Women for Africa Foundation, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, signed a collaboration agreement to work on projects and joint activities for the promotion of women’s empowerment in the Mediterranean.

Barcelona, 28 January, 2017. The agreement was signed at the UfM headquarters in Barcelona at the Second Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean, which was held on 23-24 January under the theme Mediterranean in Action: Youth for Stability and Development. The UfM Senior Deputy Secretary General for Social and Civil Affairs, Delphine Borione, was also present at the ceremony.

Under this agreement the Women for Africa Foundation and the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean aim to promote initiatives that enhance and promote women’s participation in all areas of public life in the Mediterranean region and North Africa. It also includes supporting women’s participation in peace processes and the search for answers to extremism and radicalisation as well as working on the causes of illegal immigration.

There is growing evidence of the link between women’s empowerment and a significant impact on higher rates of education, increased economic growth and social cohesion leading to more stability, peace and development. By promoting equal participation of women in the labour market and public life, GDP could increase by an estimated $28 trillion or 26% by 2025 (Source: McKinsey Global Institute).

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