The month of March is an opportunity, every year, for AICS, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, to turn the spotlight on the many stories, activities and female faces of Cooperation and to reiterate its commitment against gender discrimination, to the promotion of the role and leadership of women. A story made of great efforts, of daily struggles in often difficult and violent cultural, political and economic contexts to achieve gender equality and the affirmation of women and their rights which remain one of the characterizing missions of the Agency and its actions in the world. Each AICS branch presented its local activities and program. The celebrations, which began on 8 March with International Women’s Rights Day, ended today in Rome with a day of awareness dedicated to the theme of the transversality of gender equality and the emancipation of women and girls in the action for development. The full day, desired and organized by AICS Italia, open to all employees of the Agency’s Italian and foreign offices, saw the presence of important interventions and the testimony of Alessandra Accardo, the Neapolitan policewoman who was the victim of violence in 2022.
March 21st concluded the two weeks of celebrations of International Women’s Rights Day which also involved all the foreign AICS offices with local programming, published on the respective websites and social channels as well as on the AICS Italia website.
“The commitment to the issue of gender equality has always been in the DNA of AICS.” – adds Doctor Marco Riccardo Rusconi, Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation. “Woman in every society is the bearer and guarantor of stability, growth and long-term sustainable development. Ensuring gender equality for all girls and women in every corner of the world therefore becomes the essential tool to be able to stably bring peace, security and growth to the Agency’s areas of intervention”.
“One day is evidently not enough to reverse the trend.” – specifies Doctor Leonardo Carmenati, Deputy Technical Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, who has always been committed to gender equality. “AICS is committed every day to strengthening its ability to include gender equality across the board in all projects implemented. This year, in addition to having given ample space on our website to the numerous initiatives carried out by the foreign offices, we wanted to organize an internal event aimed at further raising staff awareness of the importance of the role that each and every employee of AICS, at central and abroad, can and must play to help eliminate discrimination against women, girls and girls. This is why we have called an exceptional guest – Dr. Alessandra Accardo – who with her very strong testimony will remind us how the fight against gender violence concerns everyone. Ours is a battle waged in the name of the many girls and women, who unfortunately were unable to overcome the violence, pain and stigma.”
The numerous initiatives of the AICS offices are valued both in the annual report “Italian Development Cooperation for gender equality. 2022 Report“, created by the Headquarters and on the Agency’s sites.