PRESS RELEASE
Brussels, October 2025 – For immediate release*
G-EPIC Forum of Stakeholders — Closing Conference
Building Inclusive Citizenship Competence: Empowering Girls, Advancing Gender Equality, Shaping Policy
Brussels, 3–4 November 2025
Gender Five Plus (G5+), in collaboration with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) — coordinator of the Horizon Europe project “Gender Empowerment through Politics in Classrooms” (G-EPIC) — and the G-EPIC consortium, will host the
G-EPIC Forum of Stakeholders — Closing Conference at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in Brussels.
The event marks the conclusion of a three-year Horizon Europe research programme exploring how education can foster political self-confidence and participation among young people, particularly girls and those facing multiple disadvantages, across Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Over two days, academics, policymakers, educators, and civil society representatives will gather to discuss how to translate G-EPIC’s evidence and interventions into sustainable policy change.
The conference will open with remarks from Agnès Hubert, President of Gender Five Plus (G5+); Isabelle Le Galo Flores, Secretary-General of the EESC; and Katja Reppel, Head of Unit “Democracy, Equality, Culture” at the European Commission’s DG Research and Innovation. This will be followed by a keynote by Professor Dimokritos Kavadias (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), overall coordinator of G-EPIC.
Sessions will explore barriers and pathways to gender equality in politics, inclusive didactic interventions, and voices from the field — culminating in policy dialogues on embedding equality in education and democratic participation.
Speakers will include Caroline Vrijens, Flemish Children’s Rights Commissioner, G-EPIC Belgium Advisory Board member; Liz Moorse, Chief Executive, UK Association for Citizenship Teaching, G-EPIC UK Advisory Board member; Marketa Stepanova, Deputy Director, Gender Studies NGO, G-EPIC Czechia Advisory Board member; and Nikola Poitzmann, Project Coordinator, Ministry of Education from Hesse, G-EPIC Germany Advisory Board member.
The second day will open with a keynote by Professor Bryony Hoskins (University of Roehampton), who led the G-EPIC work package that developed and evaluated the G-EPIC five-lesson programme. The research and findings will be presented during the conference, alongside testimonies from students and teachers and a policy roundtable on the project’s next steps.
All sessions will be moderated by Joanna Maycock, renowned European women’s rights advocate and former Secretary General of the European Women’s Lobby (2014–2021).
The conference will conclude with closing remarks by Christa Schweng (former President, member of the European Economic and Social Committee) and Hristina Petkova (European Commission, DG EAC), followed by a closing keynote from Koen Pelleriaux, Managing Director of GO! Education of the Flemish Community.
The full agenda is available on the G-EPIC project website.
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Press Contact:
Gender Five Plus (G5+)
📧 genderfive5plus@gmail.com
🌐www.genderfiveplus.org
Press enquiries:
G-EPIC Project
📧 gepicproject@gmail.com
🌐 www.g-epic.eu
About G-EPIC
G-EPIC (Gender Empowerment through Politics in Classrooms) is a Horizon Europe project coordinated by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) with partners from Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It investigates how gendered political inequalities are learned in schools and develops evidence-based interventions to empower girls and strengthen democratic participation. The project builds on the EU COST Action 17114 “Young-in” network on Inequalities and Active Citizenship.
Our partners
More information: www.g-epic.eu
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101095000.
