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AFFDU-UWE Award 2021 at the Women’s book Fair Paris
On November, 27, AFFDU, the French Association of Women Graduates celebrated its centenary at the Women’s book Fair “Essay Authors’ Fair”, at the town hall of the 6th arrondissement of Paris.
“In spite of the restrictions linked to the COVID, limiting the number of authors, we had quality books, known authors too, and unknown ones like me with my book just printed “L’Histoire des Inégalités entre les Femmes et les Hommes”. Luckily I sold all the books present, and the Librairie des Femmes partners were satisfied with the global sales” Anne Nègre, President UWE.
At this edition, many women authors of essays published during the year were welcomed, the Mayor wishes that this event created 26 years ago, every two years, becomes annual.
This year the event was focused on the AFFDU-UWE Award “Women’s Biographies by Women”. Anna Cabanel, the winner of the 1st edition, received the prize in the presence of the Mayor, Anne Nègre President of UWE, the First Secretary of the Hungarian Embassy and her editor Eric Peyrard of the Ampelos Publishing House. The book “Sur le glaciers en fleur” written by Anna is a biography of a Hungarian scientist, Erzsébet Kol (1897-1980), botanist and explorer. “It was during the search of the American archives Association of University Women (AAUW) in 2015 that I discovered, among the files of scholarship holders of the International Federation of University Women (in French the International Federation of Women Graduates of universities), the journey of a Hungarian botanist: Erzsébet Kol. His unusual subject of study – the snow and ice algae -, his epic scientist across North America in the middle of the 1930s and his university career outside common for a Hungarian woman at that time caught my attention.”
Anne Nègre recalled the genesis of the contest, the renewed support of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and officially announced that UWE together with AFFDU are launching the second edition of the contest. The aim will be to make visible all these invisible people who have worked throughout history for scientific, legislative, sports, etc.
The prize is awarded in November next year for a biography in French of an author on the life of women who have lived in France or abroad. The biography must be made available to the AFFDU/UWE Jury on 30 August 2022.
The prize money is the publication of the Biography in French by Editions Ampelos. The laureate undertakes to rework her biography for publication if necessary.
Biographies should be sent before August 30, 2020 to the following e-mail address: bio@affdu.fr.
More information here: Prix AFFDU-UWE des Biographies de Femmes
A call for an EU horizontal Directive to combat all forms of violence against women and girls
Today the International Day to End Violence against Women we kick off the #16DaysofActivism!
Male violence against women and girls (VAWG) is as an international long-term pandemic and has been recognised a fundamental human rights violation whose impacts know no borders. It happens across Europe, affecting over 250 million women and girls, and yet due to a lack of European harmonisation of legislation, the remedies and prevention methods taken by governments are haphazard and a lottery for the women and girls experiencing violence.
Violence against women and girls threatens the security of half of the population in the EU; 1 in 3 of women in Europe are affected by physical and/or sexual violence and 1 in 2 women in the EU have experienced sexual harassment since the age of 15. Furthermore, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), the economic cost for violence against women and girls is estimated to €289 Billion a year – prevention not only saves money, but it saves the lives of women and girls.
Both in the current context of the increase of male violence against women and girls in the Covid-19 crisis and also looking towards the future, we need concerted action and harmonisation at the EU level to ensure all women and girls are treated equally and violence is adequately prevented. EU legal action is needed to ensure equal rights between women and men in all EU member states during times of crisis, at least as much as in times of stability. The development of new types or new ways of perpetrating violence, especially in the digital sphere, has also significantly increased.
The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) calls on the European Commission to urgently move ahead with its commitments, laid out in the Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 and in the 2021 State of the Union address by President Von Der Leyen, by adopting a comprehensive legislative framework, grounded in a horizontal Directive that holistically prevents, combats and eliminates all forms of male violence against women and girls, including sexual exploitation and online violence.
Ahead of the release of the European Commission’s proposal on 8 December 2021, the European Women’s Lobby has summarised its views and recommendations in a Paper calling on the European Commission to propose ambitious EU legal actions to fight violence against women and girls. This paper is based on a research project conducted by legal academic experts to evaluate the potential scope and legal basis for the Directive and is the result of consultation with our membership throughout the EU.
EWL’s key recommendations for the Directive include the adoption and enhancement of the gold standards of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention – to date the most comprehensive international treaty on the topic. The Directive must address all forms of violence against women and girls, including work-related, public sphere online or offline, as well as to explicitly address sexual exploitation, and violence against women subject to intersecting forms of discrimination. EWL also underlines the need to ensure the harmonisation of existing EU legislative instruments relative to forms of violence against women and girls.
The paper takes the evolving environment into account and explores adding VAWG to the list of Eurocrimes, as well as other possible legal bases to prevent and combat some forms, if not all, of violence against women and girls.
This is a key moment in the long history of our movement’s fight against male VAWG, and it is crucial that all EU Institutions and Member States step up and play their part: together, we can disrupt the continuum of violence and create an EU where all women and girls live free from violence and the fear of it.
European Women Pharmacists Meeting
Pharmacists are confronted daily with situations that bring them into ethical conflicts. Professional standards and values can conflict with other interests, such as those of the patient, other caregivers or the health insurer. Careful handling of such situations is important for successful resolution and job satisfaction, perhaps even more so during the Covid-19 pandemic.
University Women Germany (DAB) is pleased to invite all UWE Members to the 15th European Women Pharmacists Meeting to be held ONLINE on Saturday 20. November 2021 (original venue was Cluj-Napoca, Romania).
Register for this conference to listen to the speakers, evaluate ethical issues you have encountered in the workplace, and contribute to the discussion.
Please register at: https://vaaoe.at/event/ewpm20112021/#rsvp-now or via email: akademie@vaaoe.at
Registration fees:
From 1 November (standard): € 40
Students: € 10 (limited to first 20 to register)
Payments: DAB e. V. Sparkasse KölnBonn,
IBAN: DE19 3705 0198 0002 7923 15 – BIC: COLSDE33XXX
Keyword “EWPM 2021” and name if registered person is not identical with the account holder
Women of Europe Awards 2021
We are delighted to announce that UWE President Anne Nègre has been shortlisted for the 2021 Women of Europe Awards in the Woman in Business category. She was nominated by the University Women of Europe for her efforts in raising awareness of the Istanbul Convention, organising events at the Council of Europe to understand the obstacles to its implementation, having a recommendation voted by the Conference of INGOs, highlighting women’s movements in various countries and organizing training on LGBTI rights.
The Women of Europe Awards are jointly organised by the European Movement International and the European Women’s Lobby, building upon the national awards of several National European Movement Councils.
In 2021, the Women of Europe Awards’ celebrate its sixth anniversary. Indeed, the Women of Europe Awards were launched in 2016, to highlight the contribution of women in promoting and advancing European issues, and to increase the involvement of women in debates about Europe and its future. While the role of women in the European project remains largely unrecognised, the awards aim to acknowledge and showcase their inspiring initiatives which lend a voice to women across Europe and defend European values such as democracy, inclusion and diversity.
Women of Europe Awards, 2021 Edition
Date: Wednesday, 1 December 2021
Time: 16:00-17:00 CET
This edition of the Women of Europe award ceremony will be held online. The event will be live streamed on the European Movement’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn pages.
This year’s distinguished jury consists of female leaders from all walks of life across Europe, including
– Eva Maydell MEP, Group of the European People’s Party, President of the European Movement International
– Réka Sáfrány, President of European Women’s Lobby
– Maria Atanasova, Volunteer & Advocate for Integration of Roma Youth; winner of the Woman in Youth Activism award in 2020
– Elizabeth Adams, on behalf of the European Federation of Nurses Associations, which won the Women in Action award in 2020
– Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra
– Sylwia Spurek MEP, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance
– Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, Director General of the Commission’s DG Communications, European Commission
– Federica Mogherini, Rector, College of Europe
– Asha Allen, Advocacy Director of the Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe
– Pirkko Mahlamaki, Secretary General of the Finnish Disability Forum
Shortlisted nominees in each category include:
Woman in Power | showing extraordinary political leadership in Europe
Kauthar Bouchallikht, Dutch Politician and Climate Activist
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
Silvia Costa, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Italian Government
Woman in Action | undertaking extraordinary actions at grassroots level in Europe
Jenny Rasche, Founder and Chairwoman of the Association “Kinderhilfe Für Siebenbürgen E.V.”
Ineta Ziemele, Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union
Gina Miller, Activist and Anti-Brexit Campaigner
Woman in Business | advancing European integration with entrepreneurial spirit
Dr Özlem Türeci, Physician, Immunologist, Lecturer and Entrepreneur
Anne Nègre, Lawyer on Behalf of UWE
Tijen Onaran, CEO & Founder of GDW Global Digital Women
Woman in Youth Activism | for women aged 15 to 30 strengthening the voice of young women in Europe
Greta Thunberg, Swedish Climate Change Activist
Zorana Milovanovic, Project Manager at Evropski Pokret U Srbiji
Zahra Karimy, Activist for Women’s and Children’s Rights
We encourage you to join the discussions on Twitter using the hashtag #WomenofEurope. You can also follow the event organisers @EMInternational & @EuropeanWomen. More information regarding the 2020 Women of Europe Awards edition, including list of shortlisted nominees and winners, is available here.
Save the date! GWI Global North-South Dialog #2: “Connectivity and Partnerships to Empower Women as Agents of Change”
On Sunday, 31 October 2021 from 7-9 PM CEST, UWE will meet FUWA in a second session dialogue hosted by GWI, Connectivity and Partnerships to Empower Women as Agents of Change, which aims to establish a partnership between the two GWI regional groups through joint projects of common interests. Longer-term partnership goals include working together on a case study that addresses the priority theme for the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2023, Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
Dialogs will include an Overview of Progress and Challenges in African and European GWI National Federation and Association countries led by Linda Rebecca Williams, FUWA President, Anne Negre, UWE President, and Aisha Alshawaf, UWE Vice President, respectively; the Use of ICT to Empower Rural Women into Leadership led by Nneka Chiedozie, FUWA Vice President; and ICT Literacy and Connectivity as Effective Enablers for FUWA led by Sahar Gamal, FUWA Coordinator of International Relations.
Guest speakers from UWE:
Dr. Flora Vincent will lead a dialog about the danger of gender bias in artificial intelligence for equality between women and men. She is a young French scientist specialized in marine microbiology. A graduate of AgroParisTech, (the best one in France in that field ) she completed her thesis at the École Normale Supérieure (the highest level in France AN) for the Tara Oceans program, rewarded with the Thesis Prize of the Foundation of the Sea. She now works at the Weizmann Institute of Science on marine viruses where she leads the next Tara expedition to Patagonia. At the same time, she co-founded WAX Science, an association that promotes science without stereotypes by creating and distributing innovative tools. She is co-author of the book “Artificial intelligence, not without it!” a book that explores how algorithms reproduce sexist biases”. She has been invited to speak at the Gender Equality Commission of the CoE.
Pirrko Malhlamäki, the Secretary General of the Finnish Disability Forum, a board member of the European Disability Forum, EDF and a board member of the EWL will speak about connectivity in disability. She has participated in a number of European campaigns and projects, such as the EURADE project to promote participatory research for disability equality. She has been involved in the development and management of personal assistance scheme and independent living arrangements that enable her continued work and study. Trained as translator in English and French, specialized in judicial translations and disability terminology, she is member of the Non-discrimination and Equality Tribunal of Finland. For her contribution to disability rights and anti-discrimination work, she was awarded the Order of Merit of the White Rose of Finland and the Human Rights Award of the Finnish League of Human Rights in 2009.
GWI-UWE members are invited to register for the event HERE.
Virtual Annual General Meeting 2021
The AGM is going to be conducted virtually on the 12th of September, 10 – 14 CEST (Britain and Ireland -1 hr, Baltic countries, Finland and Romania +1 hr) via zoom, online registration is open until 72 hours before the event here at this link: ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM UWE AGM 2021.
- The number of participants is limited to 100 people, only one voting person/each NFA, the CER or a delegate, in case the CER cannot attend, the other participants can attend as observers on mute. Only the members that have paid their dues will be allowed to vote. Please it’s very important to sent the nominations of your voting CER/delegates , new deadline: no later than September, 10!
Our meeting will be around three hours, following this proposed AGENDA:
9:45-10:00 Testing the connection
10:00-10:05
Welcome – President Anne Negre
Practical information and Electronic Voting Protocol – Secretary General Roxana E. Petrescu
10:05-10:15
- Adoption Agenda
- Minutes Report AGM 2020
10:15 – 10:45
- Reports
- President Report by Anne Negre
- VP’s Reports by Aisha Alshawalf, Pina Foti
- Financial statement 2020, Budget 2022 and proposal dues 2022,the
- Balance sheet by Treasurer Annelies Pierrot – Bults
10:45 – 11:15
- Elections of the two Vice presidents
- Presentations of the Candidates (5 minutes each)
- Q &A (10 minutes)
11:15– 11:30 Short Break: Electronic voting and a surprise programme prepared by the Finish Federation of Graduate Women
11:30– 12:30
- Annual Reports of the NFAs (5 minutes each)
12:30– 12:40
- Presentation of the new NFAs (5 minutes each)
12:40– 12:45
- Proposal Next Conference & AGM 2022
12:45– 12:50
- Presentation Next UWE Meet & Greet
12:50 – 12:55
- Reflections on the future of UWE
12:55 – 13:00
10. Any other business
Some of you have registered so far and sent us the annual reports, well done! We know that many of you probably have been on holidays, let us remind you the Board would be glad to receive the other annual reports, each NFA will have 5 minutes to present it live.
We will organize elections this year, the Board received four nominations. Only the voting delegates will receive by email the voting forms and they will have max. 15 minutes to fill it after we will make a quick test.
Now we’re inviting all of you to read the annual reports prepared by President Anne Negre, Vice President Aisha Alshawaf and Vice President Giuseppina Foti.
We are looking forward for your questions, comments and feedback, no later than this Friday, two days before our virtual meeting! Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions about the General Assembly and the elections: boarduwe@gmail.com. Thanks!
GWI and FEMU speak out against the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan
The Graduate Women International (GWI) & Mexican Federation of University Women (FEMU) express their concern for the women and girls in Afghanistan regarding the imminent restriction of their most essential rights and freedom.
Here is the emergency call signed by all the Board Members of GWI:
As more and more women and girls in Afghanistan are fearing for their lives and for their human right to have quality education (SDG 4), GWI is standing up to have their voices heard in the global space as we have already done for over more than 100 years.
GWI desperately urge all governments and international agencies like UN, UNESCO, UNICEF, WTO, ILO, World Bank and all others, directly or indirectly involved in this disastrous development for women and girls in Afghanistan, to combine their power and use all their means to prevent this human right violation. The women and girls from Afghanistan urgently need global support!
GWI will support them as much as she can with the means that are available to the GWI’s global network, but it is to the Governments and International Organizations to act together and act now!
Please approach your governments and all your contacts at international agencies to set them in motion.
Here is the statement issued by FEMU:
Programme Online UWE Conference 2021
We are very pleased to invite you to our next online UWE Conference “The Effects of the Pandemic on Gender Equality ” hosted by the Finnish Federation of Graduate Women (SANL) coming soon on September, 11 2021:
11.00 – 15.00 CEST (Britain and Ireland -1 hr, Baltic countries, Finland and Romania +1 hr)
What are we aiming for, what lessons and what questions do we have after more than one of living through a pandemic?
• To bring people information and hope
• To bring people together to discuss how the pandemic has affected their lives and, also, what kind solutions have been produced across the Europe (best practices)
• How has gender equality been derailed by covid-19? How should women organizations proceed with their work?
Our Conference agenda is meanly focused this year on the following topics, we have four workshops (max 25 per workshop). You are invited to choose only 2 from the list, so we can accommodate all the participants.
1) Education (Chair: Anne Turunen)
What has the covid situation done for the field of education? Let’s find out and discuss how the pandemic has affected young people who just have started their studies or are trying to launch their career? What are the different means to cope with the situation when studies are mostly done on distance and how the situation will be reflected to the future working life?
2) Work (Chair: Kirsi Jokikokko)
During the global COVID-19 pandemic working life has changed everywhere. Employers, employees and entrepreneurs have had to learn a new reality and ways of working have changed significantly. In this workshop we discuss what are the impacts of COVID-19 on working life. Are the changes permanent, what may change back. How shall we see the future in working life?
3) Health and Human Relations (Chair: Jutta Hartikainen)
How has the pandemic affected people’s mental health and relationships? Positive and negative outcomes. Is there a difference on outcomes between generations and genders. What about globally? Whom has suffered the most and whom have had its best effects? What are the best practices to share and learn from and what are those things that needs to be done as soon as possible?
4) New Possibilities (Chair: Pauliina Inervo)
What kind of ecological and digital improvements and services has the pandemic brought people in different age groups?
Programme
10.45 – 11.00 Testing the connection
11.00 – 11.10 Welcome by Kirsi Jokikokko, President of the Finnish Federation of Graduate Women
11.10 – 11.30 Presentation on Domestic Violence again Women by Anne Negre, President of University Women of Europe and Basak Ovacik, VP Fundraising, Turkish Association of University Women
11.30 – 12.00 The Pandemic and Gender Equality at the EU Level, Speaker to be confirmed
12.00 – 12.10 Get up and strech a little
12.10 – 12.40 The Pandemic and Gender Equality in Finland by Senior Researcher Anna Elomäki, Institute for Health and Welfare and University of Tampere
12.40 – 14.00 Workshops: How the pandemic has affected women’s lives in your country?
14.00 – 15.00 Results and discussion
ONLINE Registration is open HERE. The number of participants is limited to 100 people, first come first served, so better you book your place ASAP! After filling the registration form you will receive a confirmation message with the zoom link. PLEASE SAVE THIS INFORMATION TO YOUR CALENDAR!
We look forward to seeing as many of you, now more than ever we need lifelong learning and solidarity amongst women to cope with unexpected happenings!
Call for Applications: Marie S. Curie FRIAS COFUND Fellowship Programme (FCFP)
For the ninth time the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) which is the University of Freiburg’s international research college publishes a call for applications of the international Marie S. Curie FRIAS COFUND Fellowship Programme (FCFP), now for the academic year 2022/23.
About 25 fellowships will be awarded through a highly competitive, strictly merit-based selection process.
This programme offers outstanding international researchers, both on the junior and the senior level, an opportunity to apply for an extended research stay here at the Institute. We therefore ask you to consider this opportunity for yourself and/or to pass it on to colleagues to whom this call might be of interest.
The programme, which is co-financed by the European Union’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Programme, is open to all disciplines; the financial conditions are internationally competitive. Fellowships of 3 to 10 months may be applied for in the senior scheme, while in the junior scheme the fellowship duration is 12 months. Successful applicants will conduct their fellowship between September 2022 and September 2023.
For the fellows the programme offers outstanding research opportunities, not only in the research environment of a leading European research university, but also with the added advantage of being part of a community of fellows from different disciplines.
FRIAS provides its female researchers with targeted information on attractive offers relating to mentoring, coaching and training. Special attention is given to fellows who plan to come to Freiburg together with their families. FRIAS makes every effort to provide tailor-made solutions with regard to suitable accommodation, child care and educational facilities.
Further information can be found at:
https://www.frias.uni-freiburg.de/de/aktuelles/wiss-ausschreibungen/frias-cofund-fellowship-programme-2022-23
Application Deadline: September 3rd, 2021; 24.00 h CET.
University Women of EUROPE 