The arts competition invites all young people from the Arab region to use the arts to address the theme “#HearMeToo: Speak up against violence against women and girls”. The competition is open to all art forms, including paintings, drawings, collages, videos, photos, poems and music. All Arab youth under 25 years old are invited to apply – and there is even a special category for children under the age of 10.
A panel of experts will select the winning pieces, which will be announced at an awards ceremony on 6 December 2018 at LAU Beirut. The best submissions will be showcased at this event and the winners will be featured in Lebanese and Arab regional media.
To enter the contest, participants are invited to email their original submission to iwsaw@lau.edu.lb before 1 December 2018 and upload it to social media using the hashtags #16DaysCompetition #IWSAW and #ESCWA.
About the 16 Days of Activism
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign (25 November – 10 December) serves as a time to raise awareness and increase momentum toward ending violence against women and girls worldwide.
In the framework of the annual campaign, United Nations partners are encouraged to host events with local, national, regional and global women’s movements, survivor advocates and women human rights defenders and create opportunities for dialogue between activists, policymakers and the public. The colour orange is a key theme unifying all activities, with buildings and landmarks lit and decorated in orange to bring global attention to the initiative.
About the partnership between ESCWA and LAU
The ESCWA Center for Women (ECW) and LAU’s Institute for Women Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) have sustained an active collaboration on research, conferences and campaigns, including the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and other youth-driven initiatives.
Most recently, ECW staff led interactive discussions with students enrolled in LAU’s M.A. program in “Interdisciplinary Gender Studies” on subjects such as women’s political participation, the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, and the regional state of gender justice.
The collaboration is intended to provide LAU students with the necessary knowledge, experience, and skills to facilitate their path from university to the professional world. Several students enrolled in the program have also been offered internships at ECW, allowing them to gain hands-on experience of the United Nations’ work on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Arab region.
*****
For more information:
Nabil Abu-Dargham +961-70-99 31 44; email: dargham@un.org
Ms Rania Harb: +96170008879 harb1@un.org
Ms Mirna Mahfouz: +961-70-827372 mahfouz@un.org
