Bonn, 7 March 2016 – International Women‘s Day marks the first anniversary of
“Gender@International Bonn“. The network unites key actors of the international
Bonn in their endeavors to globally advance gender equity from Bonn. This is to be
achieved especially in the light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The
current list of members features UN Bonn, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, GIZ,
Deutsche Welle, UN Women National Committee for Germany and the City of Bonn.
In its first year of activity, the network has already hosted successful panels and workshops
during several international conferences as well events involving Bonn-based women’s
organizations. A number of events is scheduled for 2016, among them Deutsche Welle’s
Global Media Forum in June.
The UN Bonn follow the shared goal of ‘Shaping a sustainable future’ for all. Achieving
gender equality and empowering all women and girls, as laid out in Sustainable Development
Goal N° 5, for our mandates, is a precondition for success. As long as 70 per cent of the
world’s poor are women, while female farmers are responsible for 60 to 80 per cent of the
food production in developing countries, the urgent need to act is evident. UN Bonn
contributes to the gender@international network and hereby provide additional impulse with
other actors on this crucial topic.
Beyond the United Nations, many other organizations in Bonn are tackling the cross-cutting
task of gender equality. All of them are well aware that none of the major challenges of
mankind can be coped with without women and men being on an equal playing field. Crises
and conflicts put even more emphasis on the topic – especially as the areas of disasters and
conflicts frequently pose additional dangers for women and girls to become targets of sexual
violence and discrimination.
Franz-Josef Lersch-Mense, Minister for Federal Affairs, Europe and the Media in the
Federal State of NRW, emphasized the responsibility of Germany and North Rhine-
Westphalia in respect to the global South: “Development cooperation is unable to achieve
sustainable solutions and perspectives in the global South without including gender equality
and the role of women. The agenda 2030 offers us a new and holistic framework to discuss
gender equality in the light of the major challenges of our time. In fact, we intend to take up
this question in our One-World Policy and will organize a respective event this year.
Gender@International Bonn offers an outstanding platform for this and the international
location of Bonn is an excellent stage to bring impulses into the global debate.
Tanja Gönner, Chair of the board of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) referred to the principles of the United Nations to empower women
and girls: “Human rights certainly do not distinguish between men and women. We are fully
aware that the implementation of equal rights, duties and opportunities for women and men
is a precondition for a human rights-based, socially equitable and sustainable development.
Therefore, in the framework of the German development cooperation we support our
cooperation countries to strengthen gender equality and women’s rights. At the same time,
we are doing our best to be frontrunners in our own organization GIZ!”
Peter Limbourg, Director General of Deutsche Welle, adds: “Deutsche Welle is
documenting and supporting sustainable development, and thereby gender equality. From
the beginning, we have used the DW Global Media Forum to raise awareness for the need
for action in this field. Last year’s event was a success – and we will surely build on this.”
“Bonn is international, diverse and a nourishing ground for cooperation”, says Bonn‘s Mayor
Ashok Sridharan. “On one hand, Gender@International Bonn brings together international
key players, on the other it takes the topic of gender equality into our public debate in Bonn.
In the framework of the European Year for Development, the network has just hosted a
workshop with Bonn-based women’s organizations. We are happy to present the outcomes
at International Women’s Day on March 8.”
“Standing United and Strong for Equal Rights“, says the final paper that sums up the
workshop “Women and Work: The Future we Want“. Bonn-based women’s organizations
discussed a huge variety of related topics, starting with an equal split of gainful employment
and care, as well as the access of women and girls to the labor and education markets. The
outcomes of the workshop are also available as a pdf document or printed flyer.
“Standing United and Strong for Equal Rights“, is the call for International Women’s Day
- And this could also be a motto for the network, which is presenting a new logo on the
occasion of its first anniversary.
“We have launched the network with great optimism. After a year, we have achieved
synergies and have gained recognition. Altogether, our perspectives are excellent”, says
Bettina Metz-Rolshausen of UN Women National Committee for Germany. “We can build on
this first year – and we are very happy to continue both the excellent cooperation in the
framework of international conferences and the fruitful dialogue with women’s organizations
in Bonn.
Media Contacts
United Nations Organizations in Bonn
Alice Fišer, alice.fiser@one.un.org; +49 (0)228-815-2776
Ministry for Federal Affairs, Europe and the Media of NRW
Nina Heil, nina.heil@stk.nrw.de; +49 (0)211-837-1399
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
René Hingst, presse@giz.de; +49 (0)6196-794-466
City of Bonn
Markus Schmitz, presseamt@bonn.de; +49 (0)228 –772-464
Deutsche Welle
Christoph Jumpelt, christoph.jumpelt@dw.de; +49 (0)228-429-2041