Psychologist Tatjana Stojsic Petkovic, on behalf of the Organization …IZ KRUGA – VOJVODINA, participated in the exhibition entitled When the world stopped, they aren’t in the French Cultural Center in Belgrade. The exhibition was officially opened on March 8 and will last until March 22, 2021, after which the multimedia exhibition will go on tour in the cities of Serbia.
The United Nations Agency for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment UN WOMEN, with the Gender Equality Coordination Body, the Ministry of European Integration, the European Union Delegation to Serbia and the French Embassy in Belgrade, marks International Women’s Day with an exhibition illustrating Women’s Leadership: The Future of Equality in the World after the covid – 19 pandemic.
The exhibition presents art photographs of 10 women from all over Serbia, who by personal example, contributed to the improvement of our society during the covid pandemic. Among them are a nurse, a psychologist, a teacher, a pharmacist and a saleslady. The photo of each woman was accompanied by an audio recording of their work and experiences during the pandemic: how they felt, what their role was and how they contributed to their community. The authors of the photographs and audio stories are Sandra and Igor Mandic, who presented the exhibition to the audience.
– I am very proud of all of us, it is my pleasure to be a part of this story. It’s a wonderful feeling when you know that what you are doing has a purpose, that your work serves others as an incentive and motivation. That laughter will not erase the problem, it will not pay the bills, but it will help us understand that we are here, that we are alive and that, while we are alive, we can really do a lot – says Tatjana Stojsic Petkovic.
Paying tribute to women from all walks of life for their professional and personal commitment during the crisis, the exhibition aims to draw attention to the role of women in creating a just and prosperous society. The exhibition also reminds the public of the importance of gender equality and draws attention to the increase in the number of women in management positions, equal pay and the reduction of discrimination and violence against women.
The Ambassador of France to Serbia, Mr. Jean-Louis Falconi, thanked all the women who remained in the front lines of defense in Serbia and France, when the population had to close to avoid the spread of the virus, allowing the whole world to continue functioning normally. The Ambassador especially emphasized the fact that the economic and social consequences of the health crisis already now, and especially in the future, threaten to be more pronounced, and to affect the increase of violence against women and girls everywhere in the world, whether it is domestic violence or loss business.
The opening of the exhibition was attended by prof. Dr. Zorana Mihajlovic, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia and President of the Coordination Body for Gender Equality, Gordana Comic, Minister of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue and Jadranka Joksimovic, Minister of European Integration.
The ministers concluded that the global crisis caused by the corona virus pandemic showed that women of all generations and professions resolutely endured part of the fight with the consequences of a serious health, economic and social crisis. The faces in the exhibition are a symbol of hundreds of thousands of women throughout Serbia. The ministers thanked everyone who made the faces of these women more visible.
