Paris, 6 February 2007 – Nadia Petrova and Tatiana Golovin visit UNESCO to look at ways of promoting gender equality.

Cooperation between UNESCO and the sports champions, some of whom are expected to become “Promoters of Gender Equality,” is part of the UNESCO- Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Partnership for Gender Equality that is in the process of being finalized.

Star tennis player Venus Williams already accepted to become a Promoter of Gender Equality last November and other players are expected to take on the title, and the advocacy mission it entails.

This is foreseen in terms of the partnership agreement between UNESCO and the leading women’s professional tennis body. The partnership also provides for the creation of scholarships and a mentoring network to support young women’s rise to positions of leadership in a wide range of fields in UNESCO domains (educations, science, culture and communication).

Journalists attended the presentation that UNESCO made to the tennis champions and the exchange between the players and the Organization’s gender equality specialists.

Related links:

See the video (available only in French)

Launch of the Partnership on 11 November 2006, Madrid, Spain.

UNESCO contact
Gülser Corat
Chief of Section for Gender Equality
Bureau of Strategic Planning
UNESCO
7, Place Fontenoy
75007 Paris
+33(0)1 45681744
sg.corat@unesco.org
www.unesco.org/women