Allow me to pay my respects to His Majesty King Letsie III and Her Majesty the Queen ‘Masenate,

The Right Honourable the Prime Minister, Ntsokoane Sam Matekane,

The Honourable President of the Senate and Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly,

Honourable Ministers in His Majesty’s Cabinet, in particular,

The Honourable Minister of Gender, Youth and Social Protection, Pitso Lesaoana,

The Honourable Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly

Their Excellencies Heads of Diplomatic missions and international organisations and members of their teams, in particular I recognise the presence of the Austrian Ambassador,

Representatives of Government Ministries,

Representatives of academic and training institutions, and in particular representatives from the National University of Lesotho and the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology

Representatives of Civil Society Organisations,

Representatives of the Private Sector,

Representatives of the Media,

Bo-‘M’e le Bo-Ntate,

All participants in today’s event,

Khotsong,

Speaking Points:

IWD 2024 Key Messages

• In March 1911, International Women's Day (IWD) marked the inception of an annual global event, initiating a tradition of collective activism and celebration dedicated to advancing women's equality.
• Fast forward to 2024, the global themes for this year's IWD are:
  • “Invest in women: Accelerate progress”: to ensure women’s and girls’ rights across all aspects of life is the only way to secure prosperous and just economies, in other words, upholding women’s rights are essential to achieve that “inclusive and equitable growth and social transformation” which NSDP II strives for.  à make a reference to the promotion materials (T-shirts, umbrellas and reusable water bottles)
  • “Inspire Inclusion”, with the objective to inspire a broader understanding and appreciation for women's participation and inclusion.
• IWD is about recognizing progress and advocating for gender equality and empowering women in every aspect of life.
• Embracing diverse voices and perspectives ignites positive change for everyone and is therefore responsibility for everyone. This is why EU works with multiple partners (governmental, private sector, civil society and international organisations) across the world in the quest for gender equality. Our work around the world and more specifically in Lesotho focuses on:
• Inclusion of girls in education lifts them and their families out of poverty:
  • Ensuring women's access to decent work and closing the gender gap, with education as the cornerstone.
• Enhancing women's political and economic participation:
  • Despite progress, limitations persist – women remain underrepresented in prominent positions, facing biases that link certain leadership qualities to masculinity, facing resistance, hate and threats to silence their voices offline and online.
  • Accordingly, the EU welcomes the work by the CEDAW Committee towards the General Recommendation No. 40 (2024) on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems. The new General Recommendation (GR 40) to be launched in October 2024 will provide guidance to States parties on reaching equal and inclusive representation of women in all decision-making systems – empowering women in both the public and private sectors, at all levels.

GEM Institute & Production of “A Wish For My Daughter”

• “A Wish For My Daughter” was produced under the Building the Ecosystem of Creative and Cultural Industry for the Film and Design Sectors in Southern Africa (BECCI-SA) project in collaboration between GEM Institute and The Kanye Bulletin of Botswana  and supported by the Sound Connects Fund.
• Sound Connects Fund was launched in June 2021 with the objective to increase the capacity of the cultural and creative sectors in Southern Africa. It has been implemented by the Music in Africa Foundation (MIAF) in partnership with Goethe-Institut and was made possible with LSL 57 million funding from the ACP-EU Culture programme, supported by the European Union (EU).
• Far too often cultural and creative industries are not given the right recognition that they deserve. Indeed, culture matters to our economies and to our growth, and can be a powerful tool to uphold values – such as the ones the Limkokwing students sew in the pouches – and to stimulate debates in society – such as the one we hope to foster today, and through future viewing of the movie.
• Let me thank the students and teaching staff from the Limkokwing for producing the pouches that the early birds in the room have in their hands: they are a mix of creativity, upcycling and engagements to end Gender Based Violence. These pouches are made out of a pledge wall that numerous Basotho and other personalities signed to mark their support to end Gender Based Violence last 25^th November. We thought it was particularly relevant to distribute them here today, where we celebrate once again with a young audience creativity and women’s rights.  Some weeks ago, we also launched together with other diplomatic missions in the country (China, South Africa, United States of America, United Kingdom, United Nations) the second edition of Ambassador for a Day, an initiative aimed at exposing girls from 14 to 18 years old to the world of international relations and diplomacy. I am happy that today we will also reveal who the selected candidates are for this promotion.

Final Remarks

• The Honourable Tšepang ‘Matlhohonolofatso Tšita-Mosena, Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Ntate Mohlolo Lerotholi the Commissioner for Refugees, Advocate Kuena Thabane, Attorney to the High Court, and Mme Lintle Tšita, Editor of the Informative Newspaper as moderator kindly agreed to answer your questions today after the soft launch of the movie. Do you use this space to engage: each of us plays a crucial role in creating an inclusive society. Whether through supporting women's initiatives, championing workplace diversity, or amplifying women's voices, our collective efforts can drive meaningful progress and inclusion.
• I would like to thank the Minister of Social Development, Youth and Gender for his presence today, here among youth to discuss about women’s and girls’ rights: let us all unite, take action, and make International Women’s day a catalyst for positive transformation.
• Together, we can build a future where every woman and girl can thrive and fulfill her potential.