UNESCO GENSTEMED Project Showcase Event

On 6 February 2025 in Bucharest, the International School Hermann Oberth (ISHO – Romania), in partnership with the Digital Leadership Institute (DLI – Belgium) and the Association of Women in Engineering, Science and Technology (AFIST – Romania), hosted the final event of the UNESCO Gender and STEM Education in Romania (“GENSTEMED”) project, part of the UNESCO program Revitalizing STEM Education to Equip Future Generations with STEM Competency, supported by Huawei (*science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

In-person and online participants of the event enjoyed interventions by Mr. Bogdan Cristescu, State Secretary of the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, Ms. Ligia Deca, Secretary General of the Romanian National Commission for UNESCO, Ms. Magdalena Landry, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Southeast Europe, and Amb. Simona-Mirela Miculescu, President of the UNESCO General Conference. Attendees were treated to a high-level debate featuring global thought leaders, and moderated by Ms. Corina Negrea, Romanian Science Journalist. Key findings of the project’s research activities, capturing Romanian success stories in promoting gender equity in STEM fields, were also shared by project partner AFIST, while DLI and key project stakeholders led several workshops towards young people that showcased best practices in gender inclusion in STEM.

Key project and event outcomes may be found below:

  • Video Presentation of the Final GENSTEMED Showcase Event (including English subtitles) – forthcoming.
  • GENSTEMED Research Outcomes Presentation – featuring Romanian success stories in promoting gender equity in STEM fields.
  • GENSTEMED Emerging Technology Workshop Train-the-Trainer Toolkit – embodying best practices for promoting digital equity through digital skills trainings toward young people
  • Interim Report of the GENSTEMED Project – including Research Activities carried out through the midway point of the project.
  • Final Report of the GENSTEMED Project – including Recommendations and a Way Forward based on project findings and outcomes.

If you would like to learn more about the GENSTEMED project, please contact us.

SAVE THE DATE: Awareness raising on sexually related online risks

In an era where digital interactions play a significant role in our lives, it’s crucial to be informed and understand potential online threats. Join us 15th December for a 2h engaging and informative online workshop on sexting, sextortion and non consensual intimate image abuse, where we will elaborate on the nature of these trends, identify their consequences on the victims and propose measures to deal with them.

What you will get out of this workshop:

  • Become aware of different online threat types
  • Understand how a harassments case is set in order to recognise its signs early on
  • Learn the coping mechanises and responding strategies

The workshop is organised in the framework of the Erasmus + OnSafe project which focuses at equipping young people and teenagers with the necessary knowledge, skills and tools to prevent being exposed to sexually related online risks and threats, through the development, piloting and implementation of a series of interactive workshops.

W20 EU at W20 India Summit

Today in Mahabalipuram, India, Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck, Co-head of W20 EU Delegation to the G20 Women20 (W20) official engagement group, joined the Women20 Summit concluding event of the 2023 W20 India Presidency.

In her third on-site mission to India in 2023, Ms Miller Van Dÿck joined hundreds of international W20 delegates in celebrating release of official W20 India recommendations delivered to G20 leadership on behalf of the world’s girls and women.  In this context, the W20 India Communiqué 2023 was officially handed over by Dr. Sandhya Purecha, Chair of India W20 2023, to Shri Amitabh Kant, G20 India Sherpa, in the presence of Smt. Smriti Z. Irani, India Minister of Women and Child Development, Dr. Shamika Ravi, Member, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, and Mr. Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator for India. 

In addition to representing EU feminist civil society toward the W20 for the sixth consecutive year, over the course of 2023, Ms. Miller Van Dÿck also had the honour of chairing the W20 India Taskforce on Education, Skills Development and Labourforce Participation. In this capacity, she led global W20 delegates to contribute expertise on these issues critical to the world’s girls and women, resulting in inclusion of the following language in the 2023 India W20 Communique:

Education is a human right. For peaceful, equitable, and prosperous societies, it is necessary to educate girls and women. The economic contributions of women must be appropriately recognized, rewarded and supported through measures that promote decent and predictable work, gender-equitable sharing of care responsibilities, strengthening public social infrastructures, and a guarantee of freedom from gender-based violence everywhere.

Specific Recommendations from the Skills Taskforce, as well as those for all five W20 India Priorities, may be found in the 2023 W20 Communiqué

DLI President Represents EU at G20 Women20 Summit

Today in Mahabalipuram, India, Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck, DLI President in her ex officio role as Head of EU Delegation to the G20 Women20 (W20) official engagement group, joined the Women20 Summit concluding event of the 2023 W20 India Presidency.

In her third on-site mission to India in 2023, Ms Miller Van Dÿck joined hundreds of international W20 delegates in celebrating release of official W20 India recommendations delivered to G20 leadership on behalf of the world’s girls and women.  In this context, the W20 India Communiqué 2023 was officially handed over by Dr. Sandhya Purecha, Chair of India W20 2023, to Shri Amitabh Kant, G20 India Sherpa, in the presence of Smt. Smriti Z. Irani, India Minister of Women and Child Development, Dr. Shamika Ravi, Member, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, and Mr. Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator for India. 

In addition to representing EU feminist civil society toward the W20 for the sixth consecutive year, over the course of 2023, Ms. Miller Van Dÿck also had the honour of chairing the W20 India Taskforce on Education, Skills Development and Labourforce Participation. In this capacity, she led global W20 delegates to contribute expertise on these issues critical to the world’s girls and women, resulting in inclusion of the following language in the 2023 India W20 Communique:

Education is a human right. For peaceful, equitable, and prosperous societies, it is necessary to educate girls and women. The economic contributions of women must be appropriately recognized, rewarded and supported through measures that promote decent and predictable work, gender-equitable sharing of care responsibilities, strengthening public social infrastructures, and a guarantee of freedom from gender-based violence everywhere.

Specific Recommendations from the Skills Taskforce, as well as those for all five W20 India Priorities, may be found in the 2023 W20 Communiqué

W20 EU Update – Spring 2023

Find out here about W20 EU Delegation outreach activities in Winter 2023, including participation of Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck, Co-Head of the EU W20 Delegation, at two on-site India meetings of the W20 India official G20 stakeholder engagement group, and at the 67th annual UN meeting on the Commission on the Status of Women, where Miller Van Dÿck contributed to a UN plenary panel convened by W20 India 2023 and a second panel organised by W20 Indonesia 2022.

26-28 February 2023 –  G20 Women20 India 2023 (Aurangabad, India): On 26-28 February 2023 in Aurangabad, India, Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck joined the first meeting (video) of the G20 Women20 India 2023 Presidency in her joint capacities as Co-Head of the W20 EU Delegation and Chair of the W20 India Education and Skills Task Force. She contributed as panelist (video) on the subject of the Gender Digital Divide and moderator (video) for a panel on Education and Skilling.

6-17 March 2023 – 67th Meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women (New York, New York): On 9-17 March 2023, Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck, Co-Head of the EU W20 Delegation, joined the 67th Meeting of the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women with the priority theme Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, taking place in New York City.  Cheryl contributed to a plenary session hosted by the G20 Women 20 India Presidency on Grassroots Leadership and Transformation: Charting the path of empowerment through technology and skill development, and joined a round-table hosted by Kowani Indonesia Women’s Congress, hosts of W20 Indonesia 2022.

21 March 2023 – G20 W20 India Education, Skill & Labour Force Participation Task Force Meeting 1 (Online):  In her capacity as Chair of the G20 Women20 India Education, Skill & Labour Force Participation Task Force, Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck convened the first Task Force Meeting on 21 March with the mission to generate Recommendations to the W20 India Communiqué to the G20 India 2023 Process.

27 March 2023 – UN Global Digital Compact Meeting (Online)Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck, Co-Head of the EU W20 Delegation, contributed to the 27 March 2023 Thematic Deep-Dive on Digital Inclusion and Connectivity as part of the 2023 Global Digital Compact meetings co-facilitated by the governments of Sweden and Rwanda, and hosted by the UN Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology.

4 April 2023 – G20 W20 India Education, Skill & Labour Force Participation Task Force Meeting 2 (Online):  In her capacity as Chair of the G20 Women20 India Education, Skill & Labour Force Participation Task Force, Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck convened the second Task Force Meeting with the mission to generate Recommendations to the Women20 Engagement Group of the G20 India 2023 Process.

13 April 2023 – UNESCO Expert Webinar on STEM Education in Southeast Europe (Online): On 13 April 2023, Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck, Co-Head of the EU W20 Delegation and Director of the Digital Leadership Institute, joined a remote expert round table, hosted by UNESCO, on STEM Education in Southeast Europe. Cheryl contributed as expert and author of a forthcoming UNESCO manuscript on “STEM and Gender In Southeast Europe.”

13-14 April 2023 – G20 Women20 India 2023 Second Meeting (Jaipur, India): On 13-14 April 2023 in Jaipur, India, Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck, in her joint capacities as Co-Head of the EU W20 Delegation and Chair of the W20 India Education and Skills Task Force, joined the second official meeting (video) of the G20 Women20 India 2023 Presidency and contributed to an expert panel on The Care Economy.

15 April 2023 – G20 W20 India Education, Skill & Labour Force Participation Task Force Meeting 3 (Jaipur, India):  In her capacity as Chair of the G20 Women20 India Education, Skill & Labour Force Participation Task Force, Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck convened the third Task Force Meeting to generate Recommendations for the 2023 W20 Communique from the W20 Stakeholder Engagement Group of the G20 India 2023 Process.


W20 EU Delegation members are actively engaged in outreach activities with our stakeholders around the world that promote feminist EU civil society and the interests of the girls and women of the European Union, the G20 nations, and beyond.

For upcoming events of the W20 EU Delegation and our stakeholders, please visit here, and to browse past activities, please click here.