The winner of the International Gender Equality Prize will be announced 2 December in Tampere
The International Gender Equality Prize (IGEP) will be awarded by the Government of Finland on 2 December at Tampere Hall. The prize, which was awarded for the first time in 2017, is a recognition of internationally significant work to promote gender equality. German Chancellor Angela Merkel received the prize in 2017. She directed the prize money to a Nigerien organisation that defends victims of domestic violence. The IGEP ceremony is organized by the Government of Finland, the City of Tampere and Tampere Hall. Watch the 2019 prize ceremony live stream on Yle Areena from 14.55.
The 2019 prize ceremony will draw attention to issues that must be tackled in order to eliminate inequality. For example, discriminatory laws and practices still exist in all countries of the world. Changing such laws and actively implementing them would help to secure equal rights for all.
The prize will total EUR 300,000. An open nomination period for the recipient of the award took place at the end of 2018. A jury of international gender equality experts selected the winner from among 300 proposals from more than 60 countries.
The prize ceremony takes place in Tampere
For the first time the prize was awarded in a ceremony organised in March 2018 in Tampere, Finland. At the same time the cause to which the prize money will be assigned, selected by the prize recipient, was announced.
Thanks to mainly female-dominated manufacturing industries and an active women’s movement, Tampere has a strong tradition in gender equality and women's participation in society. Back in 1905, around 40,000 people assembled in Tampere Central Square to demand equal voting rights, which were then introduced the very next year. Tampere has also taken the lead in promoting the wellbeing of women and families. As early as 1840 there was already a school in Tampere that had both male and female students.
Tampere plans to be known for gender equality in the years to come too. The City of Tampere will implement a number of actions that promote equality under the “Tampere. Equally yours" theme starting on 2 December at the celebration event of the Finnish Government’s International Gender Equality Prize (IGEP).
Programme of the Prize Ceremony 2019
Monday 2 December, 2019
15:00 – 16:30
Opening Music by Takomo Percussion
Opening Remarks
Anna-Kaisa Ikonen, Chair of the Tampere City Council
Address
Government of Finland
Awarding IGEP 2019
Pirkanpojat Boys’ Choir, accompanied by Jouni Rissanen
Panel Discussion
Facilitated by Tanja Auvinen, Director, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
Katja Iversen, President/CEO, Women Deliver, New York
Dean Peacock, Senior Advisor, Promundo, Cape Town
Eva Biaudet, MP and Chair of the National Council of Women of Finland Helsinki
Jukka Maarianvaara, Ombudsman for Equality, Helsinki
The 2019 IGEP Winner
Commentary
Dan Seymour, Director of the Strategic Partnership Division, UN Women
RECEPTION 16:30 – 18:00
Music by Aino Kurki, kantele (the traditional Finnish and Karelian plucked string instrument), and Saaramaija Żórawski, vocals, saxophone and flute
Opening remarks
Thomas Blomqvist, Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality in Finland
Commentary
The IGEP Winner 2019
External linkThe International Gender Equality Prize live stream on Yle Areena https://areena.yle.fi/1-50361153
External linkInternational Gender Equality Prize (IGEP) https://genderequalityprize.fi/en/frontpage