Exhibition to raise awareness on FGM with artworks by secondary school students

The Olivier Cornet is very pleased to have been asked to host this one-day exhibition organised by AkiDwA. Please note that the gallery will be indeed open on Monday 29 Janvier but in order to facilitate the exhibition, our current group show Compendium won’t be available for viewing on that day.

Press-release by AkiDwA:

Young People in Ireland championing the elimination of FGM

In March 2023, AkiDwA commenced the implementation of Chat Plus Project which is an EU partnership project on FGM that is focusing on changing attitudes around the practice. It does so by engaging young people to become the driving force in the elimination of FGM in Europe.

AkiDwA recruited 20 young people who underwent in-depth training on the topic of Female Genital Mutilation at the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in September 2023. They have since utilised their learnings to carry out training and events in their own schools and communities. They have organised roundtable meetings with diplomats, delivered impassioned speeches at conferences and have begun designing a behavioural change communication campaign aimed for the Irish public and the affected communities.

As part of this project, the Young Change Makers have organised an art exhibition at the Olivier Cornet Gallery in Dublin on the 29th of January from 12pm - 5pm. The event aims to raise awareness on FGM by displaying works of art created by secondary school students around Dublin and Wicklow.

The 2015 European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) Report suggests that 1,632 girls are at risk of FGM in Ireland and in 2017 AkiDwA estimated that 5,790 women and girls living in Ireland had undergone FGM, based on 2016 data collected by Ireland’s Central Statistics Office.

FGM is illegal in Ireland under the Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012. It is also included as a form of Child Abuse in the Children First National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017).

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a form of child abuse as well as violence against women and girls. Professionals working with children should be informed and trained to identify girls at risk. They should also be trained to recognise signs that indicate a girl may have been subjected to FGM or at risk of the practice. Such professionals include, teachers, professors, educators, Gardaí, nurses, doctors.

For questions or more information on event, please contact Kelly O’Doherty on 018349851/0834029237 or email kelly@akidwa.ie.

You can also visit www.akidwa.ie.

This press-release can also be downloaded as a pdf here.

The work featuring on the poster is by Ella Macek.