In the presence of the Egyptian First Lady and the President of Finland, the Anna Lindh Foundation’s Executive Director underlined the important role of women in promoting a culture of peace.

On the occasion of Finnish President Tarja Halonen’s visit to Egypt on 20 October , the Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation, Andreu Claret, participated in a discussion panel titled “Women’s Participation and Empowerment for Peace and Security”, with the presence of the Egypt’s First Lady, Suzanne Moubarak. The event was organized by the Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement (SWIPM) in cooperation with the Embassy of Finland.

Speaking about self-empowering women as being the most relevant and useful way to promote peace, justice and dialogue, Andreu Claret highlighted that the consolidation of the process of women’s empowerment faces today many challenges. “The progress observed in last decades is threatened by the resistance of patriarchal structures, the predominance of cultural archaic values and stereotypes, and the negative consequences of the economic crisis on women’s employment”, he said.

In addition, the Foundation’s director stressed on the role of Education in forging a culture of peace and dialogue within Euromed societies, stating that large percentage of the 150 programmes run by the Anna Lindh Foundation in the 43 countries of the Euro-Med Partnership are dedicated to that objective.

Andreu Claret concluded by confirming that women across the Mediterranean have preserved and transmitted important cultural goods, such as language, beliefs, oral literature, as well as ecological and artistic knowledge and in shaping the best side of the Mediterranean history, as well as being actors of peace in the future.
Representatives of international organizations, civil society and diplomatic missions participated at the discussion, including Nadia Makram Ebied, former minister of state for environmental affairs and Ismail Serrageldin, director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Participants in the discussion suggested partnerships between civil society organizations in Egypt and their counterparts in Finland. Other project proposals were cultural exchange through translation of literature and learning from the Finnish model of education, commended by the participants as among the best in the world.