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Marking Girl Child Day under the theme “Inclusion” of people with Down syndrome!
On International Girl Child Day, IPKO Foundation and Down Syndrome Kosova launched the Inclusion campaign to mark October as Down syndrome awareness month.
The International Day of the Girl Child celebrates the power of girls and highlight the barriers they face, as declared by the United Nation General Assembly in 2011.
Today’s launching ceremony started with the presentation of the mission of the advocacy group of people with Down syndrome by Medina Surdulli. She said that the goal of this group is to raise their voice and who better can do that than the community itself, showing what challenges they face and what their needs are.
“We want inclusion in schools, jobs, and society!” - said Medina.
At the campaign launching ceremony, we also heard the inspiring speech of the President of Kosovo, Ms. Vjosa Osmani, who said, "we should create opportunities for girls to reach their full potential. The stronger the girls of today, the stronger the women of tomorrow. October is also the month for people with Down Syndrome. They are like us, similar, different, but equal," - said the H.E President, Mrs.Vjosa Osmani.
UN Development Coordinator a.i, and UNDP Resident Coordinator, Ms. Maria Suokko, voiced that “societies that invest in girls can be transformed for the benefit of everyone.”
"It's a pleasure to be here speaking on behalf of the UN Kosovo Team on the occasion of Girl Child Day. This day is an opportunity to remind ourselves that investing in girls is important”, Ms. Suokko added.
Down Syndrome Kosova Association has 980 members and operates in four different cities. The Executive Director of the Down Syndrome Association, Sebahate Beqiri, added that “the campaign “Inclusion” conveys the message about the potential of people with Down syndrome and addresses their requests for their needs and rights.”
IPKO Foundation marks Girl Child Day for the 10th edition in a row to improve the digital skills of young girls and women and empower them to follow careers in the STEM field.
During today’s ceremony, the Program Manager of IPKO Foundation, Vlora Shabiu, stated, "we will continue to work together with our partners to improve the lives of young people in Kosovo.”
"I'm delighted to see all of you today, with such good energy and will to advocate for your rights. All of you are a very significant part of our society, and we will continue to work together to provide you with everything you need to be integrated into society", she added.
The one-month campaign will be characterized by an advocacy group of young people with Down syndrome, who will travel during October to the main cities in Kosovo to advocate for their community's needs and rights to policymakers and citizens of Kosovo.
The advocacy campaign and activities in honor of the International Day of the Girl Child are supported by UN Kosovo Team, UNDP Kosovo, UNFPA Kosovo, Unicef Kosovo Programme, and UN Women Kosovo.
