We celebrated the International Women's Rights Day at the Byurakan community, where 13 young girls from all the provinces of Armenia told more than 50 young people gathered at the Byurakan observatory about their "flight to the stars" and their dreams. Successfully taking first steps in the fields of technology and innovation, these young women participated in an International Women's Day event to inspire their peers with their stories.

Representatives of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Armenia, UNFPA, UNHCR, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of High-Tech Industry, the Aragatsotn Governor’s Office, EU partners, representatives of the Human Rights Defender's Office, The Body Shop, Safe You, WomenNet, Byurakan observatory, non-governmental organizations and other guests were also present at the event.

Welcoming the attendees, Tsovinar Harutyunyan, UNFPA Armenia Head of Office, told the background of March 8 and the great contribution of women, including of our own nation, in the field of science and technology.

"Gender equality and women empowerment is not just the right thing to do but also is the smart thing to do. The United Nations absolutely supports this, and we are sure that with every year that goes by we will see progress increasing involvement of women in digital technology," said Niels Scott, acting UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia.

RA Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Tatevik Stepanyan, addressing the girls, called on each of us to be brave in our place on our “flight to the stars” today. "Let's never have the fear that we do something worse than the other sex, that we have much bigger obstacles than men... everything is in our hands," said Ms. Stepanyan.

Areg Mikayelyan, Director of the Byurakan observatory, told about famous Armenian female astronomers: Elma Parsamyan, who discovered Karahunj, Alenoush Terian, who is called the mother of Iranian astronomy, Paris Pishmish, who is considered the founder of modern astronomy in Mexico. Mr. Mikayelyan, on behalf of the observatory, expressed his willingness to support and guide the girls if they show interest in the field of astronomy.

The speakers mainly represented the fields of science and mathematics, and some also proposed innovative technological solutions to bring positive changes in their community and province. They told stories one more interesting and inspiring than the other.

"Never give up no matter what happens, always have your dream in front of you and move forward, you are the one who paves your way," said one of the 13 speakers, 22-year-old Varditer Beglaryan, from the Metsamor community of Armavir region, nuclear reactor physicist and Mari Curie scholarship recipient.

Anahit Jilikyan, a nineteen-year-old resident of Vanadzor, advised the girls never to give up, because science loves failures, and every failure is a new discovery in itself, anyone who chooses science should know. "If someone has done it, you can too, if no one else has done it, you will be the first."

Before the event, the young people visited Viktor Hambardzumyan's house museum and the largest telescope of the observatory. And at the end of the event, the speakers received awards from the institutions and organizations present. They also became ambassadors of Ne, the symbol of the Girl Child. All the participants of the event received one copy of the book "50 women with disabilities who changed the world".

The event was held under the theme of the 2023 Women's Rights Day, "Innovation and Technologies for Gender Equality", declared by the UN. The goal was once again to value and emphasize the important role of young girls in the field of technology and innovation, to inspire teenagers and young people to take their confident steps and choose a profession by the example of young girls who have successfully taken the first steps in these directions.

The event was initiated by UNFPA Armenia, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the Aragatsotn Governor's Office, and implemented in cooperation with "Feminno" within the framework of the "Addressing Gender-Biased Sex Selection and Related Harmful Practices in the South Caucasus: Support to Regional, National and South-South Interventions" project implemented by UNFPA. The project is financed by the European Union and UNFPA.