Global Campaign #Girl2Leader, organized for the first time in Romania
On October 11, on the International Girl’s Day, the #Girl2Leader campaign took place, involving over 1,500 teenagers from all over the world – Ireland, Malta, the United Kingdom, as well as Canada, United States, Bolivia, Malaysia or Kenya. Romania joins this campaign for the first time, at the initiative of MP Oana Bîzgan.
The #Girl2Leader campaign was launched by the Women Political Leaders Global Forum (WPL) to encourage teenagers to pursue a career which involves holding decision-making positions in various fields. At this first edition, over 30 girls between 14 and 17 years old from all over the country participated in the project: Bucharest, Craiova, Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, Focșani, Alba-Iulia and Brăila. In the four days of events held in the Romanian Parliament, at the Cotroceni Palace and at the World Bank headquarters in Bucharest, these young women got in touch with women from politics, diplomacy, the business environment and NGOs and they were encouraged to become leaders themselves.
The 31 participants selected out of the over 90 girls registered benefited from a job-shadowing experience with 31 deputies and senators from all parties, accompanying them for a day and following their activity in the Romanian Parliament. These young women also participated in workshops on social media, active citizenship and equal opportunities, supported by experts recognized in the field (Monica Jitariuc, Elena Calistru, Florentina Chiru). The girls participating in #Girl2Leader Romania also visited the Presidential Administration, the Embassy of Sweden and the World Bank.
“We have prepared various relevant activities for these young women, so that they have access to unique experiences, which will positively influence them and inspire them to change their communities for the better. In Romania, gender differences are still quite present, and women are not encouraged to become actively involved in decision-making. I thank all my colleagues in the Romanian Parliament, who accepted the invitation to join this campaign, as well as the partner institutions” said Oana Bîzgan, organizer of the #Girl2Leader campaign in Romania.
The end of the campaign is marked in each partner country by a conference, with live video transmission from the international team of #Girl2Leader. The event in Romania takes place today at the Parliament Palace, and among the speakers of the conference are E.S. Mrs. Anneli Lindahl Kenny, Swedish Ambassador to Bucharest, Mrs. Tatiana Proskuryakova, World Bank representative in Romania and Mrs. Despina Andrei, Communication & Fundraising Manager UNICEF.
Oana Bîzgan is an MP and Young Global Leader, a member of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men and the Committee on Economic Policy, Reform and Privatization of the Chamber of Deputies. She has started a great number of legislative initiatives, such as the law regarding street harassment, the punishment of moral harassment in the workplace, civil partnership, the establishment of the National Automated Registry on juvenile offenses, sexual and harassment offenses and increasing the placement age of children in residential centers from 3 to 7 years of age. You can find more information at www.oanabizgan.com.
#Girl2Leader is a global initiative, launched in 2017 by Women Political Leaders, which aims to inspire girls from around the world to embrace leadership roles in their communities and to become involved in the political sphere, under the slogan “Lead Like A Girl”. The campaign is under the High Patronage of the President of Malta, H.E. Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, who argues that “the world needs the valuable input that women and girls bring when they get involved, along with men and boys. It is only in this way will that we be able to build the future that we can be proud of when looking future generations in the eye.” You can find more information at girl2leader.org.
