At a gathering to celebrate International Women’s Day, H.E. Ms. Katharina Wieser, Ambassador of Austria to India, highlighted the importance of gender equality and the European Union’s commitment to advancing this cause. The event, held at the Austrian Ambassador’s residence in New Delhi on March 6, 2025, also marked the official handover of the EU Gender Championship from the Austrian Embassy to the Slovenian Embassy.
Explaining the concept of the EU Gender Championship, Ambassador Katharina stated, “It is a joint initiative by the EU delegation and EU member states’ embassies here in New Delhi, who take turns in assuming the role of EU Gender Champion. This means that one embassy—or sometimes a team of several embassies—takes the lead in actively promoting gender equality in our daily work.” She emphasised that while all EU missions prioritise gender issues in their foreign policy, the initiative provides an added impetus to drive tangible action in this area.
Welcoming the attendees, the Ambassador acknowledged the strong presence of women but also took a moment to appreciate the men in attendance, underscoring the inclusive nature of the event. “We did not want this to be a women-only event. Gender equality is an issue that affects and is important to all of us,” she remarked.
In concluding, the Ambassador highlighted the need to continue to address the many obstacles to full gender parity: “Even approaching the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 2025, the issue of gender equality remains one of the foremost issues we need to address in the interest of the sustainable development of our societies”.
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