Backed by its mandate to support young women in the region and equip them with the required skills to sustain their employability and engagement in decision making process, UNFPA GCC held a joint activity, on 19th of June, with the Resident Coordinator Office in Bahrain under the current work plan of 2019 “Capital Governorate Volunteering Pass initiative”, which was attended by ca. 25 Bahraini young women and men. The initiative’s theme this year is dedicated to supporting the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and its objective is to provide youth with opportunities to serve the community and spread the spirit of social responsibility, actively deepen the concepts of voluntary work and prepare them to act as change agents in their communities.
In response to this vision, UNFPA invited Oman Y-Peer focal point and leader Ms. Asila Al Harathi to talk about her experience as a volunteer in the network. She had the opportunity to give an interactive presentation addressing the volunteerism concept, how the Y-Peer network changed her life and views, the importance of gender equality, and the opportunities she had thanks to her engagement. She gave a brief summary on the history of the flagship Y-Peer initiative of UNFPA in Oman. She also highlighted the skills she gained out of her participation in the network’s events and workshops such as leadership skills, communication abilities and organizational competences.
The event, which was held online, was a good opportunity to highlight the UNFPA mandate, history and the current preparations ahead of the ICPD25-Nairobi Summit. It was kicked off by a short intro-duction given by UNFPA GCC’s programmes and communication coordinator addressing the im-portance of the ICPD25 to accelerate the promises toward women and adolescent girls. Through the discussion, it was noted that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, where 179 governments adopted a landmark Programme of Action which set out to empower women and girls.