New York

This week, Flanders House is pleased to welcome Mr. Pascal Smet, Flemish Minister of Education, Youth, Equal Opportunities, and Brussels to New York. As Flemish Minister for Equal Opportunities he works on five themes: gender, sexual identity, full accessibility, disabilities and ethnic/cultural diversity. His policy is built on two pillars: equal opportunities and equal treatment or anti-discrimination.

In New York, he will attend the 54th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) as head of the Belgian delegation. The CSW is dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. Every year, representatives of Member States gather at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.

On March 1st, Mr. Smet attended a class of the Dutch language school 't Klokhuis at Flanders House. In the following days he visited multiple organizations such as the Gender Equity Project at Hunter College and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center.