OSCE OFFICE LAUNCHES ESSAY COMPETITION FOR ARMENIAN STUDENTS ON GENDER ISSUES
Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)
March 7 2006
YEREVAN, 7 March 2006 – The role of women in decision-making will
be the theme of a student essay competition that will be launched
tomorrow by the OSCE Office in Yerevan.
Organized in co-operation with the Centre for the Development of Civil
Society, the event inaugurates a gender activities month, linked to 8
March, International Women’s Day, and will end on 7 April, celebrated
in Armenia as Beauty and Motherhood Day.
“The essay contest will inspire hundreds of students, teachers and
parents and help focus on women’s rights and the role of women in
Armenia’s public and civic life,” said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin,
Head of the OSCE Office.
“This project is one of the few country-wide initiatives that aims
to promote gender education and awareness through outreach to young
Armenians, especially in the regions of the country.”
As in the previous contests, this year’s event will be organized in
nine regions of Armenia. The award committee will select 27 regional
winners and three national winners, who will receive prizes at a
ceremony to be held in Yerevan on 10 April.
Earlier this year, the OSCE Office initiated an International
Co-ordination Group on Gender Issues, an informal forum of the main
international actors in the gender field in Armenia, to enhance
the exchange of information and co-ordination of gender-related
initiatives.