Luanda – Angolan vice president Esperança Costa defended Thursday in Luanda the need to provide women with knowledge and skills for their economic and social empowerment.
The Vice-President was speaking at the opening ceremony of the I International Forum of Women for Peace and Democracy.
In her speech, she said that technological innovation is a key element for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Quoting the report published by the United Nations Women in 2022, the Vice President said women are 25% less likely to have the basic knowledge in this matter.
Esperança Costa said Angola plans to have at least 30 percent of women in scientific research by 2027, not forgetting, of course, financial inclusion.
The Vice-President spoke of the need to remove structural and basic barriers that hinder the access of thousands of women to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
"This forum, aligned with the African Union 2063 agenda, and the United Nations 2030 sustainable development goals, constitutes the reaffirmation of commitments to peace and democracy, requiring, in a relentless manner, efforts from all States, at the constitutional, institutional and legal levels," Costa said.
To the Vice President, the defence and maintenance of these assumptions is a "sine qua non" condition for economic and social development, especially for the inclusion of women and girls, who today are victims of violence because of their condition, in the different conflicts that are still raging on our continent.
Costa said she considered it fundamental that the socialisation of girls should not be based on discrimination that prevents access to citizenship under equal conditions.
"The influence of tradition in socialisation, especially in rural areas, should be measured so that it does not continue to condition the social construction of gender," he said.
The Vice-president said she wishes that the international forum becomes a true mechanism of international politics, where, in a conjugated way, and having peace and democracy as a support, it may join efforts to build bridges between peoples and nations, and create spaces of coexistence, understanding and comprehension between all, consecrating as a basic value, the importance of preserving concord, friendship and respect for differences.
Esperança Costa underlined that with perseverance, spirit of solidarity, good deeds and the enormous wealth of wisdom that characterizes women, it is possible to reach this level of satisfaction and go to a stage where Africa can provide a life in peace and become attractive, inclusive and resilient to the benefit of economic, scientific and social development of every nation in it.
Leading figures such as former President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson, former Vice President of Costa Rica, Epsy Cambell Barr, United Nations representatives and diplomats will address the five thematic panels being addressed at the event to run until Friday.
