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Leonard Ncube

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THE European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN) Women are today hosting the 5th edition of the #HeForShe Impact Summit in Harare as efforts continue to reaffirm commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The EU and UN are co-chairs of the #HeForShe Movement, which is UN Women’s global solidarity movement that engages men and boys as advocates and agents of change for the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

#HeForShe encourages men and women in local communities, the diplomatic corps, the private sector, academia, and Government institutions to collaborate in promoting women’s rights and gender equality.

It also creates networks of #HeForShe Champions who work side by side to cross-share experiences and ideas on gender equality and male engagement to promote peer-to-peer accountability and jointly advocate for gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as make personal and professional commitments towards gender equality and track progress on those commitments.

The summit serves as a platform for #HeForShe Champions to share experiences, exchange ideas and best practices, as well as affirm and reaffirm their commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment.

In a joint statement, the two co-chairs said the summit will be held under the theme: ‘Strengthening Partnerships for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment’, and it will explore strategies for cultivating and harnessing multi-stakeholder synergies for gender equality.

“The #HeForShe Impact Summit provides a crucial platform for us to come together and drive collective action towards gender equality and women’s empowerment.

“Through strengthened partnerships, we can create meaningful change and ensure a more inclusive society for all,” said Jobst von Kirchmann, the EU Ambassador and co-chair of the movement.

UN Women country representative Ms Fatou Lo said: “The focus for this year’s #HeForShe Impact Summit allows us to consolidate our thoughts, strategies, and efforts toward gender equality and women’s empowerment while leveraging unique capacities and capabilities. It is important for us to reflect on how we work together and how we do more and achieve greater impact”.

The summit will also witness the on-boarding of additional #HeForShe Champions including private sector leaders, youth leaders, and civil society leaders, including 60 youth Innovators Against Gender-Based Violence (IAGs), who have been actively promoting the #HeForShe movement in rural areas of Zimbabwe and contributing significantly to research on gender at master’s level through the EU funded spotlight initiative.

About 100 participants, including Government officials, diplomats, UN Agency representatives, business leaders, civil society organisations, and youth activists are expected to attend.