On 26 and 27 May 2015, the Division for Gender Equality in the Office of the Director-General, with support from the Education Sector and with the participation of experts from higher education institutions in France, held a workshop on combating harassment and violence in universities with eight faculty members of Cairo University.  

The purpose of the pilot workshop was to support and reinforce Cairo University’s “Safe University” Campaign. The objectives of the workshop were to exchange information about the University’s anti-harassment policy, encourage discussion among Egyptian, UNESCO and French faculty and experts and explore possibilities for future collaboration. After two days of exchange and discussions, all parties agreed to continue the dialogue and on this critical issue and exchange information and good practices.

After the opening remarks by Ms. Saniye Gülser Corat, Director of the Division for Gender Equality and H.E. Mr Mohamed Sameh Amr, Ambassador of Egypt to UNESCO and Chairperson of the Executive Board of UNESCO, Ms. Nicole Ameline, the Deputy for Calvados and former President of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) gave the keynote address. Ms Amelin spoke about her experience in promoting gender equality and preventing violence against women and the important role laws and culture play in prevention. Ms. Ameline expressed her admiration for the work being done by Cairo University on violence and harassment prevention, and pledged her on-going support for their initiatives.

UNESCO has always been committed to upholding human rights and to the preventing harassment and gender-based violence. This commitment continues to be a focus for UNESCO under the umbrella of UNESCO’s Global Priority Gender Equality.