Equipop was present for the first time at the Solidarity Village at the Solidays festival, where it took advantage of this platform to raise awareness among festival-goers about the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls in West Africa and around the world. Here's a look back at this weekend of solidarity, music, and sunshine.
The weekend of June 22-24 marked a big first for Equipop, which was present for the first time at the Solidarity Village at the Solidays* festival. These three days provided an opportunity for the entire team, made up of Equipop employees and young volunteers, to raise awareness among festival-goers about the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls in West Africa and around the world.
It was under sunny skies and accompanied by music that Equipop set out to meet festival-goers. Various activities helped raise awareness of Equipop's work in France and West Africa and shed light on what really lies behind sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). In particular, festival-goers were able to test their knowledge of SRHR by linking testimonials from our collection "Elles racontent pour ce que ça compte" (They tell their stories because it matters) to the concepts associated with them (early and forced marriage, early and unwanted pregnancy, empowerment, age discrimination, and sexual assault). Festival-goers could also play a game of Molkky, revisited to promote SRHR, or compete in a quiz on women's and girls' rights!
[vc_gallery interval= »3″ images= »27034,27038,27035,27036″ img_size= »large »]Two highlights gave our stand even more visibility. On Saturday, Amélie, an illustrator, came to draw portraits of young girls from around the world. Curious visitors to the stand had the opportunity to suggest ideas for rights that these girls should have access to in order to caption their portraits. The rights that stood out included "to have control over one's body," "to love another woman," "to choose one's life and path," "to be oneself," and "to become the super warrior of one's life." Finally, on Sunday, the most daring visitors had the opportunity to express themselves in front of the camera of Tidiane, a West African journalist, who asked them about women's and girls' rights and the importance of mobilizing in favor of these rights. You will soon be able to find excerpts from these videos on the Equipop website!
The festival-goers were enthusiastic, as evidenced by the many photos tagged #G7ForGirls taken with our photo booth.
The #G7ForGirls hashtag was essential because Equipop launched its new petition at Solidays, aiming to make girls' rights a priority for the French presidency of the G7 next year. Thanks to the efforts of our team, nearly 300 people signed the petition over the weekend, which is a great start for a campaign that will continue over the coming months. The petition will be presented to the President of the Republic on October 11, International Day of the Girl Child.
On behalf of the entire Equipop team, we would like to thank Solidarité Sida for their generosity in welcoming Equipop and its volunteers to the Solidarity Village. We hope to repeat the experience next year! Finally, a big thank you to our volunteers for their commitment and good humor! Because all girls have the right to freely control their own bodies and have access to quality education, join us in calling on the President by signing the petition "Mr. President, girls' rights must be the priority of the G7 in 2019!"
