100 Acts for Gender Equality in Croatia successfully launched

The Embassy of Finland with the Croatian Governmental Office for Gender Equality and the Parliamentary Committee on Gender Equality held a launch event for the campaign 100 Acts for Gender Equality in Croatia. President of the Republic of Croatia, H.E. Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, is the Patron for the campaign.

The campaign launch took place at Zagreb's Kaptol Centre, where a full audience had gathered to hear more about the campaign and discuss issues related to gender equality. During his opening remarks, Finland's Ambassador to Croatia Timo Rajakangas stated that gender equality is a fundamental value in Finland and among the essential reasons for the country's success over the past 100 years. Ambassador Rajakangas emphasized that the campaign provides Finland and Croatia a great opportunity to exchange ideas as well as learn from each other, and challenged everybody to think what they can do in order to make our societies more just and equitable places.

The event was hosted by Barbara Kolar, who also moderated a panel discussion following Ambassador Rajakangas' opening words. The discussion brought together individuals committed to fight for gender equality in Croatia and Finland.

 Kirsi Marttinen,the Vice President of the Finnish Council for Gender Equality (Link to another website.)(TANE) and Hannele Varsa, the RTA (Resident Twinning Advisor) of the EU-funded Twinning project "Support to Gender Equality" at the Croatian Governmantal Office for Gender Equality, talked about the achievements and challenges Finland has faced in achieving gender equality. Helena Štimac Radin, Director of the Governmental Office for Gender Equality, in turn, shed light on the successes and issues the country has faced so far.

The audience had the opportunity to also hear about gender equality from a business and workplace perspective as Ankica Mamić, owner of IMC Agency (Link to another website.)and one of the founders of Women 50+, shared her experiences about women and entrepreneurship, while John Gasparac, PwC CEO, talked about the importance of organizations recognizing the importance of gender equality. The audience at Kaptol Boutique Cinema was invited to participate in the discussion as well, which gave the floor to several questions and comments.

This event was part of a series of events organized by the Embassy of Finland, in cooperation with local partners, to celebrate two milestones in 2017: 100 years of Finland´s independence and 25 years of diplomatic relations between Finland and Croatia.

About the Campaign

The aim of the campaign is to collect 100 Acts for Gender Equality in Croatia. An act is a concrete measure that enhances gender equality within the Croatian society. It is recommended that participants engage their members in the planning and implementation of the act because acts committed to by the whole community yield best results. The act can be big or small, national or local, but it has to bring about active change to the current state of affairs.

Various organisations have been invited to participate in the project - public institutions, companies, municipalities, nongovernmental organisations, sports clubs, education institutions, the media and labour organisations.

If your organization wants to participate, please send the free description of your act to the Embassy of Finland by e-mail ([email protected]). Should you need any assistance, please contact Ms. Laura Stojic at 01-6312080. In spring 2018, the best acts supporting equal opportunities for women and men in Croatia will be awarded.