Today, H.E. Mr. Louis Dumas, Ambassador of Canada, H.E. Mr. Ivan Jukl, Ambassador of the Czech Republic, H.E. Mr. Eric Chevallier, Ambassador of France, H.E. Mr. Frank Hartmann, Ambassador of Germany, H.E. Ms. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico and H.E. Mr. Håkan Emsgård, Ambassador of Sweden hosted a joint celebration to honour 12 outstanding Egyptian women with the „Champions of Change Award“.

The German Embassy in Cairo joined forces with its partners at this event to recognize the contributions of Egyptian gender equality pioneers and celebrate the transformative social, economic, and political achievements of remarkable Egyptian women ahead of International Women’s Day.

Ambassador Frank Hartmann personally handed over the awards to Mrs. Namees Arnous, founder of E7kky Network and Mrs. Salma Ellakany, founder of VeryNile Shop, who were nominated by the German Embassy. He stressed: „The more diverse and inclusive we are, the more we can achieve together. This is why Germany subscribes to a feminist foreign policy. Today’s “Champions of Change„ highlight through their contributions in a wide variety of fields the importance of empowering girls and women to shape their communities and to fully participate: be it on social media or through environmental activism. We can all take inspiration from them.“

During the same event Ambassador Hartmann honoured the three young finalists of the German Embassy’s online poetry competition „Dream, Think, Express“, Ms. Darim Hany, Ms. Janna Sherif and Ms. Hager Ali for their inspirational and creative poetic art work that gives a voice to the concerns and aspirations of the younger generation.

Germany follows a feminist foreign policy, placing those affected by it at the core. Women’s voices, ideas and resources are crucial for societal progress and stability. To tackle today’s complex challenges policies must be shaped by diverse voices from all parts of society.

The Germany Embassy in Cairo therefore supports a variety of projects empowering women. These range from vocational training efforts to educational campaigns on women’s rights and freedoms. We trust that our Egyptian partners are best places to identify how and where activities can have a lasting impact and follow their lead. All our project work is gender-sensitive, meaning we explore how they affect women and men differently and set out to cater to both. This approach allows the work to build a more gender-equal environment far beyond the project duration.

For the full joint press release including the list of awardees, follow this link: Canada, Mexico and Sweden joined by France, Germany and the Czech Republic in marking Egyptian Women’s Day