“Power to become leaders of tomorrow”: National Council celebrates International Day of the Girl

To mark the International Day of the Girl, Monaco’s National Council and local organisation SheCanHeCan invited 24 secondary school students to join them for candid discussions on the role of women in society.

Since 2018, the International Day of the Girl has been celebrated in the Principality with a gathering of influential women and young high school students. This year’s edition, on Wednesday 11th October, was particularly poignant as, for the first time, the President of the National Council is also a woman.

*Brigitte Boccone-Pagès, centre, has been President of the Conseil National since 2022. Photo credit: Conseil National de Monaco*

MADAME PRESIDENT

Brigitte Boccone-Pagès, who took the reins in 2022, warmly welcomed the students invited to attend with an opening speech.

“Dear young girls, you have the power to become the leaders of tomorrow for Monaco and well beyond depending on your ambitions,” said Boccone-Pagès. “Dear young men, you also have in your hands the power to help young girls take their place.”

But her encouraging words were tempered by the grim reality of gender bias.

“While progress has been made, significant challenges remain. Based on the current rate of progress, the United Nations estimates that women and girls will not achieve full equality with men and boys for another 300 years worldwide,” she continued. “Crises, unacceptable constraints of certain regimes, poverty or war as is unfortunately the case today in the Middle East… It is always young girls who are the first to suffer the consequences of human behaviour, too often at the risk of their lives.”

START WITH THE GIRLS

Whilst it is clear more work needs to be done to improve equality between the sexes, the President also remarked on how women have unprecedented opportunities ahead of them in terms what they can achieve and the leadership positions they can reach.

Mathilde Le Clerc, President of the Commission for National Education, Youth and Sports, added her voice to the event, saying, “This day, which honours girls, is in my opinion just as fundamental as the Day of Women’s Rights celebrated on 8th March. Affirming women’s rights means above all starting by respecting those of girls.”

Click on the images below to see more from the event: