RIYADH: The UN celebrated its 80th anniversary at its Riyadh office on Wednesday night, highlighting the role of women in Saudi Arabia society.
The participants included officials from government and semi-government entities, as well as representatives from various UN agencies.
During the event, several speakers discussed the progress made in empowering Saudi Arabia’s women, and how the Kingdom is advancing toward its sustainable development goals.
“Here in Saudi Arabia, we see women in classrooms, in university, in labs, in public service … and today here with us (are) artists who turned imagination into voice and identity,” said Mohamed El-Zarkani, UN resident coordinator in the Kingdom.
El-Zarkani emphasized that development was not only about infrastructure but also developing skills, participation, dignity, and access to opportunity.
The event featured “She Shapes Tomorrow,” a show displaying the work of Saudi artists that illustrate the connection between the nation’s culture and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
“We are here to serve, to build trust, and to connect people with hope, knowledge, and responsibility.
“The UN’s value isn’t defined by its age or scale, but by its humanity, its ability to stay close to people, listen to them, and help transform potential into opportunity,” El-Zarkani said.
Saudi Arabia has been contributing to international development, mediation, climate action, humanitarian aid and knowledge exchange, he added.
“We are not celebrating how old the organization is; we are celebrating its relevance. The UN and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have such a strong partnership.
“We worked with each other across all sectors, from water desalination to energy efficiency to environmental action to food security to early childhood development,” El-Zarkani told Arab News.
“This kind of partnership is one where there is so much synergy and compatibility between both of our entities, where we see value in this partnership and relationship,” he added.
“Women everywhere still fight for their voices to be heard,” said Janneke Van der Graaff, deputy regional director of the UN Women’s Regional Office in the Arab States, in a speech.
“In inequalities, persistent decision-making, in pay, in access to services and opportunities, without women on the table, half of the population … remains vulnerable to discrimination.”
This year, more than 200 women from rural areas across the Kingdom participated in a collaborative initiative between the Food and Agriculture Organization, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Sustainable Rural Agricultural Development Program and Reef Saudi Arabia.
Through this project, women learned how to turn local produce including coffee, pomegranates, leather and roses into viable business ventures.
