LocationsInternational Women's Day 2023
Multi-Country Poetry Recitation Event
April 9, 2023
Led by UNDP Nepal, Maldives joined several countries in the Asia Pacific region in the multi-country poetry recitation event held virtually, around the theme of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2023: “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”.
The theme was aligned with the priority theme for the upcoming 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-67), “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.
The main objective of the multi-country event was to build awareness and sensitize women and men, especially young women and men, girls and boys to speak their mind and recognize the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education and raise issues on safe digital space for women and girls by addressing online and ICT-facilitated gender-based violence through poetry, which has created this online space.
The multi-country poetry recitation event creates a space:
- To reflect on the status of women and express opinions and concern in digital space and innovation
- To raise awareness regarding the leadership role played by women specifically on transformative technology and digital education
- To counter online harassment and creating safe digital space for women and girls
- To encourage women and men, especially young women/girls, men/ boys to creatively express their ideas through poems.
Speaking first at the physical event held at UNDP Maldives joined by UN agencies in the country to mark IWD which featured the poem recitations, and later at the multi-country recitation held virtually, UNDP Resident Representative in the Maldives, Enrico Gaveglia, touched on the importance of creative expression, poetry and storytelling in promoting social change and advancing gender equality in and out of the digital space.
The event at UNDP Maldives to mark IWD also featured trailblazing women from and working in the Maldives, who are setting the benchmarks on digitalization and technology for gender equality.
