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In the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) meeting on 3-4 December in Singapore, Lithuania’s delegation submitted a proposal to European and Asian countries to begin a broader discussion on women’s empowerment and to start sharing their experiences in this field.

“In order to revive economic growth and to tackle demographic challenges, we need to seek equal opportunities in the economic and social spheres, and to improve conditions of women’s engagement in the labour market,” said Lithuania’s representative to the ASEF, Ambassador in Japan Egidijus Meilūnas.

The diplomat presented Lithuania’s initiative to open an active dialogue between Asia and Europe on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Lithuania is initiating the Asian-European international conference, which will be dedicated to the above-mentioned issues and legal aspects of women’s participation in the labour force. The forum is planned to be held in Vilnius in May 2017. It will bring together representatives of European and Asian governments, academic institutions and non-governmental organizations, and legal experts who will submit their recommendations to the governments.

The participants of the meeting were also acquainted with an international photo competition ‘On the Go’, which was organized by the Asia-Europe Foundation. A Lithuanian representative Berta Tilmantaitė won first place with her photo ‘On the Boat’. Photographers from 50 countries took part in the photo competition with more than 1500 works. The completion showcased the stride of life in Asia and Europe. The theme of the contest was based on the pace of life in the two regions, illustrating moments where Asians and Europeans were different and yet alike. The European representative Tilmantaitė shared the main prize with an Asian representative from India.