European Development Days (EDD) 2018: gender equality and non-violent coexistence

This year the European Development Days (EDD) focuse on women and girls, gender equality and their empowerment. For its twelfth year, on 5 and 6 June 2018 in Brussels, the event provides a platform for exchange on international cooperation for sustainable development.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is supporting the international forum, where it will share examples of its projects and work experience. In many projects, the federal enterprise supports the successful implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) worldwide and the political, social and economic gender equality of women. Between 2010 and 2015 alone, GIZ and its partners worldwide contributed towards over 400,000 women finding employment and more than 80,000 displaced girls gaining access to school education.

In Brussels, GIZ will highlight preventive measures in combating violence against women. For example, more than 8,000 employees across six South American countries have received online training on the causes and consequences of violence since 2014 on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The prevention of violence against women was not yet considered an issue for regional businesses in 2010, but it has now been mainstreamed in around 875 companies. Peru and Paraguay have also introduced state accreditation for ‘Businesses safe and free from violence and discrimination against women’. This benefits both businesses and employees. An environment free from violence improves the quality of life, reduces production losses and increases staff commitment.

_{Copyright photo: European Commission}