International Symposium "Gender and the University - Shared Expériences towards Generalising Gender Studies"

On March 28th and 29th, 2019, the International Symposium "Gender and the University - Shared Expériences towards Generalising Gender Studies" will be organised at the Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences of Aïn Chock in Casablanca, and at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Rabat. This event is taking place in the Framework of the International Women's Rights Day, under the theme "Think equal, build smart, innovate for change".

Organized by UNESCO, the Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences AinChock-Hassan II University of Casablanca, the Institute for Research for Development (IRD) and the Center for Studies, Research and Training Course on Gender and Equality - Morocco (CEG-Morocco), this international symposium aims to share experiences and bring to the attention of decision-makers, universities and the public on the importance and the urgent need to promote and mainstream gender studies as an essential lever to achieve gender equality and development.

On Thursday, March 28th, 2019, round tables and workshops will be held at the Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences Ain Chock of Hassan II University of Casablanca focusing on the possible modalities, ways and means to institute and generalize Gender studies in the universities. Discussions will allow international benchmarking and experience sharing, both on opportunites and challenges. The issues of generalising Gender studies implies cross-cutting challenges that have been addressed differently at the international level, taking into consideration the specificities that exist in each country, or even in each region. Experience sharing will capitalize on the lessons learnt from various settings, and draw practical recommendations, which can serve as guidelines for policy making.

On Friday, March 29th, 2019 at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University Mohamed V of Rabat, the organizers will present to the national institutions the scientific progress that have been made towards generalising Gender Studies, as well as the recommendations that came out from March 28th Workshops.

This event will also launch two UNESCO publications (2018) on the state of the arts of Gender Studies in Morocco and in Tunisia :
• Gender and University in Morocco. State of the arts, challenges and perspectives, UNESCO / Hassan II University of Casablanca-IRD, 2018
• Gender Studies and Training in Tunisia. State of the arts and perspectives, UNESCO / CREDIF, 2018

Based on the experiences and work carried out by the University and supported by UNESCO and IRD in Morocco and Tunisia since 2015, and also the recent steps initiated in 2018 in Egypt, Sudan and Lebanon, this event will have an international dimension covering the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. The symposium will bring together academia and researchers involved in gender studies in Morocco, the MENA region, Africa and Europe.