Farnesina also participates in the United Nations awareness campaign for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Tomorrow, Saturday 25 November at 6.15 pm, the Vice-President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Antonio Tajani, will participate in a lighting ceremony at the Palace of Farnesina, which will take place in the square in front of the building.
“Farnesina will turn orange to give a strong signal of attention and reiterate the firm condemnation of all violence against women, a heinous crime which constitutes one of the most serious and widespread violations of the rights of the individual in the world every hour, five women are murdered in the domestic sphere, while one in three women is the victim of physical or psychological violence or abuse and exploitation,” said Tajani.
“Violence against women is a scourge that unfortunately also affects our country. As Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, I have decided to dedicate to the memory of Giulia Cecchettin, whose assassination shocked the country, the main scholarship excellence programme promoted by Farnesina, ‘Invest Your Talent in Italy’, aimed at the best foreign talents from 17 countries and interested in deepening in Italy the disciplines of engineering, economic or architectural.” – said Tajani.
Following the instructions of the Deputy Prime Minister, Farnesina and its foreign network join the campaign “Orange the World”, which gives force to 16 days of initiatives with civil society. The campaign, entitled “UNITED! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls”, focuses on promoting investments and financial resources dedicated to combating gender-based violence, setting an even more ambitious goal: proclaiming 25 of each month an “Orange Day”as a tool to strengthen and maintain public attention on this issue.
The vulnerable situation of women and girls is aggravated in armed conflicts, as well as in any emergency situation, in which they are most exposed. Faced with these alarming figures, Italy once again expresses its strongest condemnation of all forms of discrimination and violence against women.
The elimination of violence against women and support for the emancipation of women are among the pillars of Italian foreign policy and development cooperation. Witness to this are the numerous international campaigns, such as those to eradicate female genital mutilation and early and forced marriages, which have always seen Italy at the forefront, and our commitment to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Also in the context of the United Nations Agenda “Women, Peace and Security”Italy is at the forefront of the international community both in promoting initiatives to enhance the role of women in conflict prevention and resolution and in post-war reconstructionconflict, both through the Fourth National Action Plan 2020-2024.
Italy participates in UNIDO’s programmes aimed at supporting women’s business opportunities in the MENA region and we are proud to support the Mediterranean Mediating Women’s Network as well as “Gender Equality Trust Fund – Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA)” of the African Development Bank. The recent Guidelines of the Italian Cooperation on Gender Equality and the Strengthening of Women and Girls aim to further intensify our engagement through specific initiatives ranging from women’s health, maternal, child, sexual and reproductive health, support for programmes for the education of girls and women and projects for the development of women’s entrepreneurship.
Effective policy planning and implementation at international level are also of vital importance for the full realisation of the 5° sustainable development goal of the 2030 Agenda, the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024 and the EU Strategy for Gender Equality 2020-2025.
