UN Women joins Europe Day celebration

On 9 May, UN Women participated in the annual event dedicated to Europe Day. This year once again, the Expo Georgia exhibition centre hosted this important occasion.

As part of a United Nations Joint Programme for Gender Equality (UNJP4GE) supported by Sweden, visitors had the opportunity to listen to writer Tamta Melashvili, who spoke about the importance and relevance of gender equality, Georgian women’s struggle for equality and its century-long history.

Ms. Melashvili presented a video jointly produced by UN Women, UNDP and UNFPA on gender stereotypes, which clearly demonstrated how harmful attitudes that are widespread in society negatively affect both women and men.

“Equality cannot be achieved unless men also join this effort and recognize the pressure and barriers that patriarchy creates for them as well. Understanding patriarchy and fighting against it is something men should learn from women, because women already have extensive experience in this regard,” Ms. Melashvili noted, concluding her speech with the emotional words of Kato Mikeladze: “Empowering women with equal rights alongside men is essential if humankind does not wish to remain forever a blunt instrument of violence. Long live women’s equal rights, long live women fighters, long live our energy.”

Women entrepreneurs also joined the Europe Day celebration with the support of UN Women. Throughout the day, 50 women, including refugees from Ukraine, had the opportunity to present their diverse products—handmade items, accessories, souvenirs and food products—to visitors, sell their goods and establish valuable new networks.

“Participating in the fair dedicated to Europe Day was a very important and emotional experience,” said Lela Kobakhidze, who produces handmade bags, belts and other accessories under the brand Lekobsi. “For me, this day is associated with freedom, development and new opportunities. I am happy to have been a part of it. Such events are particularly important for supporting women entrepreneurs and Georgian brands in general.”

According to the study “Access to Financial Resources for Women Entrepreneurs in Georgia: Challenges and Opportunities”, prepared by the Institute for Social Studies and Analysis (ISSA) with the combined support of UN Women and the German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation (DSIK), access to finances remains a significant barrier for women entrepreneurs in Georgia. It is also noteworthy that 70 per cent of women entrepreneurs have no alternative source of income beyond their own business or production activities. Therefore, participation in various events and fairs, as well as support for product promotion and sales, is of great importance to them.

For years, UN Women has been working to support women entrepreneurs alongside the support of the European Union and the Governments of Austria, Denmark, Japan, Norway and Switzerland. The women participating in the Europe Day event were beneficiaries of these projects.

More than 22,000 people attended the event this year. Throughout the day, Expo Georgia hosted various thematic activities, including discussions, live podcasts, presentations of interesting projects, screenings and performances. Paweł Herczyński, the EU Ambassador to Georgia, led the official opening ceremony of the event.

For more than 30 years, the European Union has maintained a close partnership with Georgia and supported the country’s development through knowledge, investment and shared values. The EU is Georgia’s largest trading partner and one of its biggest donors, supporting economic growth, democratic development and improvements in living standards. With EU financial support, UN Women has implemented numerous projects in such areas as combating violence against women and domestic violence and promoting girls’ participation in technology and other fields, and this cooperation continues today.

Celebrated annually on 9 May, Europe Day was established in honour of the 1950 Schuman Declaration, which laid the foundation for the modern European Union—a project based on peace, cooperation and shared prosperity.