UNGA73

Queen Mathilde was in New York from 23 until 25 September 2018 for the UN's 73rd General Assembly.

Sunday 23 September 2018

First job in New York was a get together of the Board Members of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.

Mathilde went to the Lotte New York Palace on Madison Avenue for meetings with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and fellow SDG advocates such as Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

She also attended the gala dinner for the 20th anniversary of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.

with Al Gore

with UNICEF executive director, Henrietta Fore 

Monday 24 September 2018

At the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit.

Mathilde had the chance to greet her colleagues, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway.

with Portugese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

with Belgian ambassador at the UN, Marc Pecsteen

Meeting with Virginia Gamba of "Children Not Soldiers".

Walking to the UN building with Minister of Foreign Affairs, Didier Reynders. 

Behind them walks Valerie Boels, former economic advisor at court and now part of the Belgian representation at the UN, as advisor on the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Mathilde pronounced a speech at the high level event "Funding the Future" on the reintegration of child soldiers.

video: https://vrtnws.be/p.RQWxwq0aX

Meeting with fellow SDG advocates Muhammad Yunus (founder of the Grameen Bank), Graça Machel (president of the Foundation of Community Development and the UNESCO National Commission in Mozambique).

With Marta Pais, UN special representative on Violence Against Children.

With Robert Skinner, director of UNOPS.

Meeting with Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF.

and with Kristalina Georgieva, CEO of the Worldbank.

An honour to meet with Queen Mathilde of Belgium @MonarchieBe and discuss her role as a #humancapital champion and our shared priority of investing in the world’s most vulnerable people #UNGA pic.twitter.com/3aoFa9cJke

— Kristalina Georgieva (@KGeorgieva) 25 september 2018

Tuesday 25 September 2018

Queen Mathilde and cardinal Timothy Dolan visited the Cathedral All Girls High School in North Manhattan to learn about their "High School for the Underprivileged" project.

Back at the UN she had a talk with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Mathilde also participated in the conference "Youth with a vision: #She is equal".

"(...) Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to open this event. It is a real pleasure for me to see so many young people here to discuss the topic ‘She is equal’.

Look around you. Is there any reason to think that the girls here are not just as intelligent, just as competent, just as motivated, just as ambitious as the boys?

Of course not!

And yet, during my field visits, in my capacity as a UN SDG Special Advocate - even at home in Belgium - I am aware that girls are often less valued than boys. But the truth is that men and women are complementary. (...)"

"Lack of education and economic empowerment also makes girls more vulnerable to early marriage, early pregnancy and all the health risks that that brings with it. They might be denied access to healthcare too. And they’re more likely to suffer sexual and domestic violence, with the consequent physical and mental trauma.

Nor should those of us who have been privileged to have a good education be complacent. There is still the infamous glass ceiling."

"But don’t make the mistake of thinking that, because girls are more vulnerable, they are weak! Believe me, they’re strong - and they know what they want. Given equal opportunities to a decent education and paid employment girls grow up to contribute, both economically and intellectually, to their families and society."

"We need to work together.  Women must aim high and work hard to get there. But men need to work alongside them to help bring about the necessary changes. Dialogue, like today’s event, is an important part of this. Boys and girls need to talk to each other about the challenges they face. After all, boys have their own issues, their own pressures and anxieties. We should recognise that too."

This was Mathilde's last activity before flying back home to Brussels.

She did however record a video message for the High level event "Time to act on global mental health".

Wat hebben Koningin Mathilde @MonarchieBe, @ladygaga en ikzelf gemeen? Geestelijke gezondheidszorg staat bij ons alle drie hoog op de agenda! België is cosponsor van het High level event : time to act on global #mentalhealth #timetoactMH #UNGA73 pic.twitter.com/mJyTrojI0Q

— Maggie De Block (@Maggie_DeBlock) 26 september 2018

Queen Mathilde of Belgium speaking at the mental health session #TimetoactMH at #UNGA just now! pic.twitter.com/nxy43C47zV

— Asma Humayun (@AsmaHumayun) September 26, 2018