The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, on the occasion of the International Day of Rural Women, participated in the Festival of Rural Women and Girls and the conference where the results and activities of the project “Improving the position of women and girls in rural areas” were presented, which the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality carried out in cooperation with the UN Agency for Gender Equality UN Women and with the support of the Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade within the initiative “Improving the safety of women in Serbia”.

Only a strong, empowered, self-aware woman can contribute to her community and beyond. We have shown this in the past three years, during which we have empowered hundreds of women and girls from the Zlatibor, Moravica and Raška districts. We also showed that with perseverance, persistence, strength and faith, common and dedicated work, we can influence the change in the image of rural women. These women have great potential, they are hardworking, smart, capable and responsible, and they have something to say to many girls and boys, said Brankica Janković.

The festival of women and girls from the village brought together the participants of the abovementioned project, who shared their experiences and discussed further cooperation and the sustainability of the achieved results.

The festival and conference were held in the Start-Up Center of the Science and Technology Park in Čačak, and on that occasion, special awards were presented to the newsrooms that continuously, dedicatedly, and professionally reported on women and girls from rural areas throughout 2023.

RTS and the show This is Serbia, the weekend edition of the daily newspaper Politika, the Association RAB Serbia, Blic Žena, Kurir TV and the Telegraf portal, which stood out because they reported regularly, dedicatedly and with understanding in the past period about women’s entrepreneurship and creativity, but also about position and rights of women and girls in rural and agricultural households. From their contributions and texts, we understood what living in the countryside in this modern age really means. We had the opportunity to get acquainted with numerous challenges, learn about their many problems, and then search and find solutions. Thanks to the media, many of us have often found inspiration and personal motivation in stories from the life and work of women and girls from rural areas.

As part of the festival and the celebration of the International Day of Rural Women, an exhibition of women’s creativity and products of members of the Association of Rural Women, beneficiaries of the project “Improving the position of women and girls in rural areas”, was held, and visitors had the opportunity to see a display of photographs made with artificial intelligence and the creativity of the Zamurović brothers.