By Blessing Chinagorom
On Tuesday 28 May, the British and Canadian embassies have jointly hosted a reception to celebrate the 21 winners of this year’s “Ambassador For A Day” competition.
According to the statement released by the British government on Wednesday, stating that these girls have won the opportunity to shadow the head of a diplomatic mission in Beirut, an opportunity to build confidence, leadership and diplomatic skills.
The statement further said that this year’s competition was launched on International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March. Over 300 girls aged 15-18 years old submitted entries on the IWD’s 2024 theme “Inspire Inclusion”.
They answered the question: “If you were an Ambassador for a Day, how would you inspire better inclusion of others in your community”, while the initiative supported by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the British Council.
Reacting to this development, the British Ambassador to Lebanon, Hamish Cowell who congratulated the 21 winners, hailed them for submission of creative, inspiring, intelligent competition entries and for encouraging inclusion in their communities.
“These girls should be very proud of this achievement. Young people like these girls show the promise and the potential for a brighter future for Lebanon, the ambassador added.
The Canadian Ambassador to Lebanon, Stefanie McCollum, told the winners that inclusion is not limited to questions of gender equality.
Adding that Canada believes that inclusion means taking into account the experiences of people facing discrimination based on gender, income, race, religion, language, ability and age, in everything that we do.
The Ambassador said, “I’m hopeful that you will carry on values of diversity and inclusion as you pursue your education, and eventually your careers”.
Meanwhile, the British and Canadian Embassies are grateful to the following diplomatic missions for their support to the initiative: Embassy of Australia, Embassy of Belgium, Embassy of Brazil, Embassy of Bulgaria, Embassy of Cyprus, Delegation of the European Union.
Also, Embassy of Germany, Embassy of Greece, the International Monetary Fund, Embassy of India, Embassy of Jordan, Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Embassy of Mexico, Embassy of the Netherlands, Embassy of Slovakia, Embassy of the United States of America, UN Habitat, UN Women, and the World Health Organisation.
