3rd UNESCO World Forum in Brazil: solutions to combat discrimination and racism in the world at the heart of discussions

The 3rd global forum of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on discrimination and racism was held from Wednesday November 29 to Friday December 1, 2023 in São Paulo (Brazil) under the theme ”The race to the top: Making equity and racial justice a priority on development agendas”, Abidjan.net learned in a press release consulted this Sunday, December 3, 2023.

This 3rd forum aimed to reflect on the importance of placing issues of gender, discrimination and racism at the center of the development and implementation of socio-economic development strategies, the press release specifies.

As a result, the participation of Côte d’Ivoire was materialized by the presence of Euphrasie Yao, the Holder of the UNESCO Chair “Water Women and Power of Decisions”, also special advisor to the Prime Minister, Head of Government in charge gender issues who took part in this meeting which also aims to launch the network of national authorities to accelerate the development of public policies and innovative solutions in favor of the values ​​of peace, human dignity, equality, -violence and non-discrimination. 

In her speech as representative of Côte d’Ivoire, Euphrasie Yao made communications which focused on the causes and consequences of gender-based violence, with a view to advancing the resilience advocated by more than ‘A. This aimed to highlight the different possibilities of opportunities, roles, needs and constraints that shape and influence the resilience of men and women as well as the experiences of the favorable institutional, legal and operational frameworks put in place under the leadership of President Alassane Ouattara.

Continuing, in her address, the national coordinator of the Compendium of Women’s Skills program in Côte d’Ivoire (COCOFCI) proposed solutions through the Awareness Training Practical Actions (COFA) method developed by herself. According to her, we must “be informed and trained to understand the ecosystem linked to the theme of racial discrimination as well as that based on gender which are at the origin of inequalities; move from mindset change to change mindset; Make the issue of transversality and inclusion a reality and a priority to guarantee large-scale impact on communities.” 

Furthermore, Gabriella Ramos, Deputy Director General of UNESCO, for her part, indicated that “it is more relevant than ever to see effective policies, decisions and actions with substantial means to ensure their implementation. implemented, in order to achieve a real impact on reducing inequalities based on gender and racial discrimination. 

Several participants took part in this event including Brazilian government officials, ministers from Nepal, Mexico, Panama, Honduras, Argentina, Canada, the United States of America, Zimbabwe, the Ivory Coast, South Africa. They also shared their experiences and good practices tackling discrimination based on gender, historical justice, systematic racism which constitute obstacles to development and justice in society.

This meeting was another opportunity for participants to join interactive sessions, parallel sessions, political dialogues, Master Classes, artistic and creative segments which were channels offered by UNESCO.