Women and Equalities written question – answered on 9th March 2018.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what overseas visits officials in the Government Equalities Office have undertaken in 2017; how many officials took part in each such visit; and what the (a) cost, (b) purpose and (c) outcome of each such trip was.
The table below sets out the overseas visits that GEO officials undertook in 2017, together with the number travelling, the purpose and outcome and the cost:
Visit | Number of officials | Purpose | Outcome | Total Cost (£) |
UNI-FORM Conference and ILGA-Europe Seminar on Hate Crime, Brussels, Belgium | 1 | Attendance at UNI-FORM project conference and ILGA-Europe seminar on hate crime | Launch new hate crime reporting website and app; identify and develop good practice on tackling anti-LGBT hate crime; showcase UK good practice | Paid for by hosts |
EU High Level Group on Gender Mainstreaming Tallinn, Estonia | 1 | Attendance at High Level Group on gender mainstreaming | Update provided on UK progress on ratification of Istanbul Convention. Networks built with others doing equivalent role across EU. Knowledge sharing from EIGE on STEM challenges for girls across Europe | 422 |
EU seminar on sexual harassment, Copenhagen, Denmark | 1 | Attendance at the EU Mutual Learning Programme in Gender Equality: Tackling sexual harassment | Exchange information, knowledge and good practice on tackling sexual harassment | 114 |
UN Commission on the Status of Women, New York, USA | 4 | Attendance at the UN Commission on the Status of Women | Negotiated strong outcome documents, shared UK good practice, collaborated with international partners | 17,784 |
Annual high-level conference on LGBTI issues, Valletta, Malta | 1 | Attendance at conference on LGBTI issues | Exchange information, knowledge and good practice on LGBT policy with particular emphasis on intersex and gender recognition systems. | Paid for by hosts |
LGBTI European Focal Points Network Meeting, Brussels, Belgium | 1 | Attendance at LGBTI European Focal Points Network Meeting | Exchange information, knowledge and good practice on LGBT policy, including UK presentation on our HBT bullying programme. | 145 |
LGBTI European Focal Points Network Meeting, Slovenia | 1 | LGBTI European Focal Points Network Meeting | Exchange information, knowledge and good practice on LGBT policy | 145 |
UN General Assembly, New York, USA | 1 | Support the Foreign Secretary at the Bloomberg global business forum while he chaired a meeting on gender equality | Successful meeting and networks built between GEO and senior business leaders. | 996 |
Research and UK / Canada Partnership on Gender Equality, New York, Boston and Ottawa, US and Canada | 4 | Building relationship with US and Canadian authorities to promote gender equality | Launched a partnership with the US on STEM; a collaboration with Harvard to work together on a research programme and the UK/Canada working group on gender equality | 10,655 |
Council of Europe drafting committee, Paris, France | 2 | Attendance at a Council of Europe drafting committee | Promote UK objectives in relation to draft text. | 473 |
Council of Europe Gender Equality Commission, Strasbourg, France | 1 | Attendance at the Council of Europe Gender Equality Commission | Identify and agree gender priorities for the Council of Europe, monitor progress on delivering the CoE gender equality strategy and showcase UK good practice | Paid for by hosts |
Council of Europe drafting committee, Paris, France | 1 | Attendance at a Council of Europe drafting committee | Promote UK objectives in relation to draft text | Paid for by hosts |
Council of Europe - Exchange on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue, Strasbourg, France | 1 | Attendance at the Council of Europe Exchange on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue | Represent UK as Vice Chair of the CoE Gender Equality Commission | Paid for by hosts |
Council of Europe Gender Equality Commission, Prague, Czech Republic | 1 | Attendance at the Council of Europe Gender Equality Commission | Identify and agree gender priorities for the Council of Europe, monitor progress on delivering the CoE gender equality strategy and showcase UK good practice | 73 |
EU Annual Colloquium on Fundamental Rights, Brussels, Belgium | 1 | Attendance at the EU Annual Colloquium on Fundamental Rights | Contribute to analysis of theme “women's rights in turbulent times” | 215 |
European Commission Seminar on LGBT bullying, Lisbon, Portugal | 1 | Presenting on the UK’s anti-homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying programme | Sharing best practice from the UK on interventions to reduce homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying with other countries; learning from other countries about their own approaches | Paid for by hosts |
G7 Ministerial Meeting on Gender Equality, Taormina, Italy | 2 | Represent the UK in discussions on G7 action on gender equality and supporting FCO Special Envoy for Gender Equality deputising for the HMG Ministers | Presented the UK position on a number of areas relevant to gender equality and promoted UK priorities; strengthened bilateral collaboration with other G7 members; and negotiated and agreed Ministerial statement on the meeting, setting out G7 priorities on gender equality | 809 |
Expert meeting on the economic independence of women, The Hague, Netherlands | 1 | Sharing research on the best practice and helping women of childbearing age balance childcare and work responsibilities | Improved understanding on the latest research and a deeper understanding of interventions used in other countries including what works and what doesn’t | Paid for by hosts |
EU High Level Group on Gender Mainstreaming, Valetta, Malta | 2 | Attendance at the bi-annual EU High Level Group on Gender Mainstreaming with former Deputy Director | Showcase UK good practice on gender equality and agree priorities which support the Presidency’s gender equality objectives | 1,131 |
EU High Level Group on non-discrimination, equality and diversity, Brussels, Belgium | 1 | Attendance at the bi-annual EU High Level Group on non-discrimination, equality and diversity | Strengthen cooperation and coordination between Member States’ relevant authorities and the Commission on eliminating discrimination. Exchange good practice on achieving diversity and full equality | 90 |
Women’s Political Leadership Summit, Reykjavic, Iceland | 2 | Understand international perspectives on women’s political representation, as well as global agreement on ways forward | Informed further discussions with parliamentarians in the UK, particularly on non-legislative approaches to increasing women’s political representation. Further understanding of real women’s experiences of gender equality in Iceland | 1,203 |
Technical meeting on advancing gender equality in international fora Brussels, Belgium | 1 | Discuss ways of working better with other EU Member States and EU institutions to promote gender equality in international fora, primarily the United Nations | Identified areas where EU action needs to be better coordinated and more coherent and discussed possible ways to improve EU impact at the United Nations | 24 |
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