Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has joined UN Women’s HeForShe solidarity movement as an IMPACT 10x10x10 champion, making Rwanda one of 10 countries around the world committing to take bold, game-changing action to achieve gender equality within and beyond their countries.
This work will be done in partnership with UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to Gender Equality and the empowerment of women. HeForShe campaign was introduced by UN Women in September last year 2014 to mobilize one billion men and boys in support of Gender Equality.
HeForShe’s IMPACT 10x10x10 program engages 30 key leaders across three sectors – the public sector, private sector and academia. All 30 IMPACT champions have made common commitments and have also developed tailored commitments, formally reviewed by an expert team at UN Women and approved personally by the Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
Rwanda has committed to bridge the gender digital divide and attain parity in ICT access, usage and innovation by 2020; triple girls’ enrollment in Technical & Vocational Training (TVET) to advance women’s employment opportunities and Eradicate Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in all its forms. It has also agreed to meet frequently with other IMPACT champions, to transparently measure and report on progress, to share best practices and to engage other leaders to take up this cause.
IMPACT champions were selected based on their reputation for strong ethical practices, their demonstrated excellence in public service, their global reach and relevance, and their willingness to use their full footprint and influence to drive and inspire change across the world.
Current IMPACT heads of state champions include Sauli Niinistö, prime minister, Finland; Michael D. Higgins, president, Ireland; Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, prime minister, Iceland; Ir. H. Joko Widodo, president, Republic of Indonesia; Shinz? Abe, prime minister, Japan; Arthur Peter Mutharika, president, Republic of Malawi; Klaus Werner Iohannis, president, Romania; Paul Kagame, president, Rwanda; Stefan Löfven, prime minister, Sweden.
HeForShe is a global solidarity movement that calls upon men and boys to take action and advocate for gender equality. The campaign strengthens the support for women’s rights as human rights, by enlisting men as advocates for gender equality.
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