On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) Lebanon and the Arab Institute for Women (AiW) at the Lebanese American University (LAU) jointly organized a multi-panel symposium. The globally attended webinar, titled “Strengthening Intergenerational Dialogue and Partnership on Gender Equality & Climate Change,” was divided into two main panel discussions. Nearly 80 people from different parts of the world attended the webinar.

The symposium comprised of various panels that addressed the following themes: the environment as a basic human right, the relationship between climate change and gender, gender equality and women’s rights, the impact of climate change on women and girls in the region, the importance of including women in climate decision-making and strengthening intergenerational dialogue and partnership on gender equality and climate change. AiW director, Myriam Sfeir, gave the opening remarks.

Opening remarks were given by Ms. Arine Ghazarian, Executive Director of AGBU Lebanon, Mrs. Myriam Sfeir, Director of AiW, and Mr. Vahakn Kabakian, Climate Change Advisor and Project Manager at UNDP Lebanon, and the moderator of the discussion.

Ms. Arine emphasized on the role of AGBU in supporting the principles of the United Nations which include human rights, education, environment and sustainability, and many more. Partnering with expert individuals and organizations to raise awareness on key issues of the 21^st century is an essential element of AGBU.

Mrs. Myriam welcomed the attendees and shed light on the AiW’s efforts in matters pertaining to promoting interdisciplinary research, creating and sharing knowledge on gender issues, building strategic partnerships to address violence against women, provide capacity-building programmes, and advance women’s involvement in politics and decision-making.

Mr. Vahakn then introduced the main theme of the webinar, which revolved around this year’s International Women’s Day theme of “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow,” focusing on the relationship between gender and climate change, taking cases from the Middle Eastern region and Armenia.