Hind Alowais highlights takeaways from Women’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai
Gender mainstreaming is crucial for the creation of a more empowered world, she says
Dubai: Since October last year, the Women’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai has hosted 170 events with more than 500 leaders, highlighting women’s contribution to society, addressing changes ahead, and inspiring visitors to become changemakers. These findings were outlined on Monday by Hind Alowais, Vice-President of International Participants Department at Expo 2020 Dubai, during a session titled ‘Learnings from the Women’s Pavilion: 5 Key Takeaways’, held as part of the World Government Summit’s (WGS2022) Women in Government Forum.
Summing up the five key takeaways from the pavilion, Alowais said: “We learnt that for real change to happen, we have to have legislation in place and break negative norms by engaging communities. We also believe that it is important to take a seat at every table, make women part of decision-making at all levels in our ecosystem and have a more inclusive organisation culture. Education and mentorship are equally important, and can be silver bullets, and this includes access to digital education, STEM education and mentorship programmes.”
Discussing the last two takeaways, she added: “The future requires us to fix data and make the evidence visible, and finally, gender mainstreaming is crucial for the success of the creation of a more empowered world.”
“When women thrive, humanity thrives,” Alowais told WGS2022, noting that the decision to have a Women’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 reflects the legacy of the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who believed men and women should be equal partners in nation-building, and everything that the UAE has done to place women’s advancement at the heart of its efforts.
The session reiterated that gender balance cannot be achieved by governments alone, it is a shared responsibility that requires meaningful collaborations. The Expo 2020 Women’s Pavilion has put this perspective into the spotlight by creating a compelling and immersive visitor journey that offers fascinating insights on women’s contributions to society.