Around 40 young dancers from the Rudra Béjart School of Dance performed to celebrate International Women’s Day at a special event at the Hotel Intercontinental in Geneva, Switzerland.
The dancers’ breath-taking choreography illustrated “A pledge for gender parity”, the 2016 International Women’s Day theme. Around 150 people joined special guests Princess Tessy of Luxembourg and the Minister for Health and Public Hygiene of Côte d’Ivoire, Raymonde Goudou Coffie, at the event. Other high-level guests included ambassadors from the Permanent Missions to the United Nations Office of Ghana, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the United States of America, as well as Sweden’s Special Ambassador for HIV.
All proceeds from the event will benefit the International Community of Women Living with HIV in Zimbabwe.
At the beginning of the evening, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé expressed his commitment to pushing for the rights, health and empowerment of women and girls at the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, which will take place in New York, United States of America, in June.
The Rudra Béjart School of Dance is a private international free school sponsored by the Sandoz Family Foundation, Béjart Ballet Lausanne, Loterie Romande, the Fondation Leenaards, the Fondation MauriceBéjart and Jaquet Droz.
"HIV is not just a medical or health issue. It is an issue of human rights, social justice and gender equality - of achieving parity between the sexes. If we are to reach our goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, we need to mobilize, advocate and act to change global attitudes and build equality across all communities."
Princess Tessy of Luxembourg, UNAIDS Global Advocate for Young Women and Adolescent Girls
“The Rudra Béjart School of Dance, founded by the great Maurice Béjart in 1992, is an institution which goes far beyond teaching the art of dance and movement. It is founded on the principles of empowerment, fairness and equality, enabling young people to stand up to life’s challenges resolutely and without aggression. After three years of partnering with UNAIDS, I understand that these same values of rights, justice, fairness, empowerment and gender equality are imperative to the HIV response.”
Michel Gascard, Director of the Rudra Béjart School of Dance
“This event is an illustration of how the world of art, the private sector and the United Nations can join forces to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in all their diversity. Let’s remember that empowering women and girls means empowering the HIV response.”
Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director
