The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the UN Information Centre in Beirut (UNIC) today marked the International Women’s Day (IWD), holding two roundtables that recommended emphasizing the needs of rural and poor women and introducing laws to protect women from stereotypical images in the media.

The 28th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) continued its discussions this afternoon in Tunis and expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Participants discussed the regular work of ESCWA at the service of the Palestinian people, which includes technical support to civil servants and advisory services to government officials. Participants also proposed additional activities by ESCWA particularly in the field of raising awareness and holding Israel accountable for its violations of international law.

The project that is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) is led by ESCWA. It will be responsible for coordinating and managing project implementation and reporting.

ESCWA is also responsible of ensuring that the preparation and implementation of the project outputs are appropriately communicated to the regional initiative partners and associated regional mechanisms.

This Project aims to enhance water and food security under changing climate conditions by informing, advising and facilitating the engagement of national governments, local communities including women and youth in climate action. This will be pursued by enhancing policy coherence across the water and agricultural sectors through institutional mechanisms and the provision of informed policy guidance and risk analysis, expanding the local knowledge base though science-based assessments and analysis of climate impacts on strategic sectors, and empowering diverse communities through applied capacity building initiatives, pilot projects and policy forums to help the Arab region become more water secure, food secure and climate resilient.

Within the framework of the “Regional Initiative for Promoting Small-Scale Renewable Energy Applications in Rural Areas of the Arab Region (REGEND)” Project, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), in partnership with the National Agency for Energy Conservation (ANME) and the General Commission for Regional Development (CGDR) in Tunisia, is organizing a capacity-building workshop on “Use of small-scale Renewable Energy for Rural Development in Tunisia”.
 
This workshop, through its first session, on 26 and 27 August 2020, aims to build the knowledge, scientific and technical capacities of local officials in the context of Rural Development in Chorbane, Governorate of Mahdia, Republic of Tunisia, on Renewable Energy use in the Agricultural Sector and in developing income-generating activities in rural areas, in addition to improving their competencies in order to better manage and accompany farmers and those wishing to benefit from Renewable Energy at all levels (administrative, technical, financing, ...). This session also aims to build the capacities of local officials on gender equality, women’s empowerment, and entrepreneurship in the context of income-generating activities in rural areas through the use of Renewable Energy as alternative, sustainable, reliable and affordable energy. Through its second session, on 28 August 2020, the workshop aims to raise the awareness of Rural Women in Chorbane, Governorate of Mahdia, Republic of Tunisia, on small-scale Renewable Energy use for income-generating activities in rural context and the reduction it can provide at cost production in the current context which is characterized by a significant and continuous rise of conventional energy prices, in addition to building their capacities on gender equality, women's empowerment and entrepreneurship in the context of income-generating activities in rural areas through the use of Renewable Energy as alternative, sustainable, reliable and affordable energy.