A couple weeks ago, a group of EUC students participated in a workshop presented by the Dutch Women’s Council (Nederlandse Vrouwen Raad, NVR). The NVR is an umbrella organization of 52 women’s organizations, representing around one million Dutch women. Founded in 1898, it is a platform for information and advocacy on gender equality.
As the NVR aims to reinvent itself in a 5-year plan, the goal of this workshop was to involve the ideas of young people into the new vision and come up with ideas on how the NVR can transform in order to appeal to next generations of men and women in their fight for gender equality.
While enjoying a delicious lunch, the workshop took off with an introduction to the NVR and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by Mirella Visser and Jerney Judell, representing the NVR. Thereafter, while keeping the Theory of Change in mind, the group started their brainstorm session on the future of NVR. This resulted in an elaborate and passionate discussion on gender equality and the role of the NVR in modern times.
Topics such as the gender pay gap, women in leading positions, paternity leave and stigmas related to the word feminism were enthusiastically discussed. We can confidently say that the student involved were not only able to address topics they believed to be of great importance, they also got an insight into how a vision and action plan of an organization is developed and adjusted.
If you are interested in the topic, don’t hesitate to visit the website of the NVR, or the UN website on the Sustainable Development Goals.