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On 4 March, at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, at the invitation of the Director-General of UNESCO, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, Tsetska Tsacheva, participated in the high-level conference “Rethinking women’s empowerment and gender equality in 2015”, devoted to International Women’s Day, celebrated on 8 March.

In her speech, the Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament stressed the importance of 2015 for gender equality and women’s rights. “Twenty years after the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action”, she declared, “women’s equal representation in politics remains unsatisfactory worldwide”. Ms Tsacheva emphasized that “one of Bulgaria’s priorities in the field of human rights is to defend the rights of women and girls, educating and empowering them, as well as including these issues in the post-2015 development agenda”.

In conclusion, Ms Tsacheva made a statement supporting the firm stance of the Director-General against the brutal destruction of statues and artefacts at the city of Mosul’s museum in Iraq, which was preceded by acts of violence against women. “As women in power, we perfectly understand our responsibility to educate future generations. I am convinced that we have a common position on the question of education – it must be based on history, knowledge of the wealth of the human mind and the results of artistic creation”.

During their bilateral meeting, Ms Irina Bokova and Ms Tsetska Tsacheva examined questions of common interests such as the new national and international challenges to be overcome, and enhancing the role of women in economic and social life, especially with regard to education for the cohesion of vulnerable societies.