Liliana Pagu, Romania
From Accomplished Artist to Civic Militant – Fighting for Women’s Rights
Liliana Pagu is a true inspiration to women everywhere, as is amply illustrated by her varied life achievements. During her earlier years in her previous professional role, she was a highly accomplished artist. Liliana was a prime-soloist of opera and ballet theatres in Brasov, Bucharest and Vienna. She was soloist in concerts of the Philharmonic orchestras in the country and in Brucknerhaus Linz (Austria). She was frequently invited as a guest on radio and TV shows in Romania and Germany. However, by the year 2000, Liliana also celebrated 10 years of involvement in the civil society, forging a way forward, to determine a more fitting status of women in Romania.
Liliana is the initiator of the Democratic Movement of Romanian Women organised by the Women's Democratic Front (a post-revolution interim entity). On the 28th of December 1989, through a TV appeal, she mobilised women across the country to destroy the old forms of the communist movement of women, to join their forces for a new historical stage of Romania. She was one of the active participants to the Revolution in December 1989, attested to by receiving the diploma of participant with special merits.
Liliana Pagu has worked most of her life as manager in national and international NGO's, and worked to promote the equality of chances in the business arena, by stimulating the involvement of women in initiating and developing their own business’ and succeed as female entrepreneurs, via such initiatives as FEMINET. All in the context of a sustained development of the communities in specified areas.
Her activity is internationally recognized in the encyclopaedia "The World Who's Who for Women", published by the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, Great Britain (1996) and nationally, "Who's who in Romania''(2002). In 1998 she is nominated for her entire activity as "Woman of the Year, 1998" by the American Biographical Institute. She received various other national and international awards for her work, such as in 1999 the Rochester New-York project, The 100 female Heroes of the World, awarded her the recognition as one of the 100 female activists for woman's rights in the whole world.
In addition to the numerous positions Liliana also received recognition as representing Romanian women in other settings. She participated to various congresses, conferences, symposiums, organised in Romania and abroad:
- In 1995 she participated to the 4th World Conference and Forum of Women in Beijing, monitoring the implementation of the Platform for Action in Romania
- In 1996 she signed, in the name of Romanian women, the Cooperation Protocol with Eurasian countries women, in Ankara.
- She participated to the local elections in 1996 as a counter-candidate for 43 men in the run for General Mayor of Bucharest. She also ran (first on the list) for the Chamber of Deputies, with a political party that did not have sufficient force to enter Parliament.
Related Topics:
Relevant Information
The FEMINET PROJECT – Developed by the Women’s Association of Romania
i) FEMINET is a web site that aims at contributing to the increase of opportunities for women, in order to obtain economic independence through efficiently using communication information and technology, but also to achieve a better understanding of women's rights. This project offers participants a chance to be equal with their male business partners, through their success.
ii) RATIONALE: The necessity of the project appeared in the context of the development of democracy in Romania and of the transition process of the society, in which the old customs and prejudices regarding the status of women had not disappeared. This situation does not provide too many development opportunities for women who wanted to build a successful carrier.
iii) OBJECTIVES: To improve the level of knowledge of women on information technologies.
- To raising awareness amongst women on the importance of the Internet as a resource and of their rights
- Training 50 women in the interactive and efficient use of the Internet - creating a space in which women can share information on various opportunities within the labour market; to identify business partners, business opportunities and, training opportunities for various areas
- More long-term aims are to increase opportunities for women, in order to achieve economic independence, through efficiently using communication information and technologies, and, to have a better understanding of women's rights.
