Last July, hundreds of people from across the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region—including activists, influencers, academics, journalists and the Swedish Ambassador to Jordan—gathered to celebrate the launch of WeRise, an edutainment app aimed at raising awareness on gender equality and women’s empowerment. With support from UN Women, the platform was developed by youth for youth—and its success highlights the impact that new voices, ideas and technologies can have on the gender equality space.
The WeRise app’s development, driven by UN Women’s regional programme “Men and Women for Gender Equality” and the HeForShe youth movement with funding from the governments of Sweden and The Netherlands, began in Jordan in 2020. During this first phase, UN Women challenged users to reflect on gender stereotypes and discriminatory gender roles with the aim of promoting critical thinking and behavioral change among Jordanian youth.
Today, WeRise is in use across the MENA region. It is available in Arabic, English and French, with content designed by over 100 young people from Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia. Targeted at 13 to 35 year olds, the app offers a variety of games and puzzles on the topic of gender equality, as well as social platforms on which users can share blog posts, interact via forums, and call for action from the community.
Additional links:
- Available via the App Store and Google Play
- UN Women website
- WHO South-East Asia
- More UN Mobile Apps
- UN Digital Engagement Hub