HeForShe
Albania joined the HeForShe movement in September 2014, which soon became a cool and recognizable brand among young people in Albania. HeForShe was embraced by civil society, politicians, public institutions, international actors, athletes, sport and cultural activists to raise awareness and invite people to take a stance for gender equality.
HeForShe was incorporated into the UNITE campaign, 16 days of activism, orange days and other international days that are committed to engaging people around the issues of gender-based violence, discrimination and women’s rights. Around 600,000 men and boys, women and girls were reached from 2015-2017 through awareness raising activities, meetings, focus groups, trainings, workshops and the football app. So far, 3,000 people throughout Albania have committed to gender equality. The HeForShe Campaign carried out in Albania and its very strong focus and engagement of men and boys was in coherence with the National Plan for Men & Boys. The HeForShe strategy revolved around 3 pillars: Volunteers, Communities and Official Support.
- Since the beginning, HeForShe worked with volunteers to build a base of engagement across CSOs, universities, and youth groups.
- HeForShe was present at large-scale events such as national festivals (Korça Beer Fest) and a summer beach/town tour across Albania, with many volunteers engaging the public in discussions around gender equality. Partnering with sport institutions, such as the Football Federation and the National Olympic Committee, engaged many sport enthusiasts.
- A former Deputy Prime Minister, former Minister of Social Welfare, and three Mayors formally committed themselves as HeForShe champions. Ambassadors from the Netherlands, France, US, Qatar, Sweden and Switzerland also embraced the HeForShe movement at their events.
Innovative approach
The Innovative “HeForShe in Stadia” campaign was a great success! It targeted men & boys on their home turf, football stadiums, using the Football Fan Mobile Game “Tifozi” (the Fan) that mixed messages on gender equality and HeForShe with football quizzes. Funded by Vodafone Foundation and supported by the Albanian Football Federation, in the 3 month campaign at football stadiums the app was downloaded nearly 10,800 times. More than 800 fans posted on Facebook about the HeForShe movement on gender equality and 50,000 people were reached in stadiums.