Brussels, 11/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - A new regional Mediterranean television channel, NISSA TV (Women TV), was officially launched in Tunis on 7 March. It receives financial support from the European Union.
Among the personalities present were Laura Baeza, Ambassador of the EU to Tunisia, the MEP Inés Ayala Sender, (S&D, Spain) and Heidi Hautala, Finnish Minister for International Development and former Member of the European Parliament and chair of the sub-committee on human rights. Several figures from political and university circles took part in the day of debate on the future of the media in the region. "The creation of a Euro-Mediterranean channel committed to promoting equality between men and women, and to promoting the role of women in our societies, can only be welcome. This channel will be able to respond to the growing need for communication between our two shores by giving a voice to all socio-professional categories of women", Ms Baeza stated. She stressed that the European Union has "always made sustained efforts to promote gender issues at ministerial level in the Euro-Mediterranean region". She went on to add that "the Istanbul conference of November 2006 on strengthening the role of women, together with its action programme, and the Marrakesh conference of November 2009" were "historic steps" along this road. (FB/transl.fl)