A new Internet site has just been launched: www.euromedgenderequality.org. It affects all the people and institutions involved in making equality between men and women a concrete reality. It is meant to be a tool for information, action and discussion.

www.euromedgenderequality.org has been put on line in English, Arabic and French within the framework of the regional Euromed Gender Equality Programme (EGEP). EGEP expresses a dynamic interaction between the European Union and its Mediterranean partners within which 8 Arab countries: Algeria, Egypt , Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, and the Palestine. It aims at “Enhancing gender equality between men and women in the Euro-Mediterranean”. It works toward the elimination of any form of discrimination or of violence with regard to women in the political, social and cultural areas. It advocates their autonomy in the public and the private spheres.

The site publishes a whole array of information on the programme, its methods, and its priority objectives: equality between men and women, combating gender-based violence, enhancing the image of women in the media and the follow-up of the Istanbul Process in order to “promote the role of women in society”.

Programme activities in the participating countries are announced and summarised. Specific information can be found there on the conditions for women in the different countries as well as the results of studies carried out at both national and regional level, within the framework of joint action between the partners.

The European Commission made available € 4,542,200 within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy, to carry out the activities foreseen by the Euromed Gender Equality Programme. The EGEP follows the regional programme on the Role of Women in Economic Life (RWEL), which came to an end in January 2009. A link has been established between the two Internet sites.