Platforms

Platforms

United to End FGM European knowledge platform (UEFGM)

The United to End FGM European knowledge platform for professionals dealing with Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) was a result of a transnational project funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium of 12 partners and 4 associate partners across the EU.

An estimated 500,000 women and girls living in the European Union (EU) are affected by FGM, with a further 180,000 at-risk each year. Meeting the needs of these women and girls requires that the asylum, health, social support, legal and judicial, law enforcement, educational and media/communication systems of EU member states offer appropriate and accessible high quality services.

In 2015, the European Commission granted the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) a 24-month project with the aim to develop a European web-based knowledge platform on FGM to serve as an EU-wide multilingual resource and education centre, which would provide easily accessible and culturally appropriate information and support to professionals from diverse backgrounds across the EU with the aim to effectively deliver victim support, raise awareness on FGM, and protect women and girls living with or at risk of FGM.

The platform, which is free of charge, offers information and practical advice about female genital mutilation (FGM) to professionals dealing with affected communities in Europe. Primarily designed for health and asylum service professionals, the online course is also of use to media professionals and NGOs, including women’s organisations and shelters offering treatment and protection to women and girls affected by FGM.

Find out more at www.uefgm.org.

She Experts

The Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS) implemented She Experts as the first organised initiative in Cyprus to break the gender imbalance across all fields of public life. The online platform launched in the framework of this initiative promotes women experts to business & industry gatekeepers via an easy-to-use and fully accessible database, which, critically, is searchable by expertise.

The initiative was constructed as a final component of Time to ACT!, a US State Department initiative (ended Nov 2017) aimed at promoting women’s leadership and active participation in decision-making. The initiative thus promotes and supports the contribution made by women experts to society and provides women with a collective voice, increased visibility, networking opportunities and encourages career progression. The platform has been an integral part and key tool of the initiative.

The She Experts platform (www.she-experts.com) offers an online resource of expert women in Cyprus. The user-friendly database showcases profiles of women across a range of professional fields, with a view to:

  1. enhance the visibility and impact of women in their professional capacity, especially across business, politics and industry;

  2. multiply women’s voices on key issues in the public dialogue, as well as combat sexism and gender bias in local media coverage;

  3. increase professional opportunities for women; and

  4. boost the visibility of female role models in Cyprus.

Find out more at www.she-experts.com.