T-Shirt competition engages young men in Secretary General's UNiTE campaign

(September 6, 2011, UN New York ) - Young men between the ages of 18-25 are the target audience of a t-shirt design competition to raise awareness about violence against women and girls. The competition, launched on Wednesday 24 August, is a new inter-agency initiative to engage young men in the Secretary-General’s campaign "UNiTE to End Violence against Women". Launched in 2008, the UNiTE campaign is a multi-year effort aimed at preventing and eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls worldwide.

"We came up with the idea for this competition as a way to engage young men in the issue of violence against women and girls", said Aldijana Sisic, campaign manager. "Statistics show that, according to available country data, up to 70% of women will experience violence in some shape or form, and we would like to see young men change that statistic, not just read about it." Young men are an important demographic group, but the campaign team envisages that the t-shirt competition will involve other stakeholders as well.

Young men from all walks of life are encouraged to participate in the competition. A diverse panel of judges, with representatives from governments, women’s organizations, indigenous communities, artists and celebrities, will select regional and global winners, and a public vote will take place from 21 September to 21 October to allow the general public to weigh in on the competition. The finalist will be flown to New York City in November to participate in activities planned for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

"By involving young men in the design competition, and by having a diverse panel of judges, we hope the t-shirt competition will have a domino effect and reach a wide range of people", explained Ms. Sisic. "Participants will also have the opportunity to post their designs on Facebook, and tweet about them, which will create a viral awareness of the issue."

The campaign website lists 6 different types of actions young men can do to contribute to preventing and ending violence against women and girls. "Every action is ‘worthy’", said Ms. Sisic. "Getting involved by volunteering, or getting involved by offering a little bit of time is ‘worthy’ of the cause, and we are trying to encourage people to participate in whatever way they can".

Please refer to the following link to learn more about the t-shirt campaign: UNiTE tshirt Competition