Office of the President of the Republic
Press Release 11/2015
8 March 2015
President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö has been invited to join the Champion World Leaders, an initiative of UN Women’s HeForShe campaign. The group consists of about 30 Heads of State and Government, CEOs and university Presidents, who commit to promote gender equality and strengthen women’s rights and opportunities.
“Gender equality benefits all of us. It is a human rights issue, as well as a prerequisite for sustainable development. It is for the benefit of the whole society when the full potential of both women and men is put to use,” President Niinistö says when he joins the group on the International Women’s Day, 8 March.
The Champion World Leaders initiative is a part of UN Women’s HeForShe campaign, which aims to engage men and boys in the promotion of women’s rights and fight for gender equality in their everyday life. President Niinistö joined the campaign in November. More than 200,000 people in different parts of the world participate in the campaign, about 2,000 of them are currently from Finland.