Kathmandu

Prince Harry to address Nepal Girl Summit 2016

Prince Harry to address Nepal Girl Summit 2016

By Himalayan News Service

Prince Harry gestures to a gathering of people in the premises of Golden Temple near the Patan Durbar Square in Lalitpur on Sunday, 20 March 2016. Photo: Skanda Gautam.

Kathmandu, March 20 Visiting British Prince Harry is set to deliver the keynote speech at Nepal Girl Summit 2016 scheduled for March 23. Prince Harry, who arrived in the capital yesterday on a five-day official visit to Nepal, will address the summit for around three minutes. Although the summit is being held for the first time in Nepal, it is a follow up to the first Girl Summit-2014, where commitments were made to end child, early and forced marriages. Thus the summit will reaffirm the government’s commitment to ensuring a future free from child marriage by 2030. The theme for Nepal Girl Summit is ‘Girls are the future of Nepal’. Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare is organising the summit with technical and financial support from UKaid and UNDP in partnership with civil society organisations. Speaking at a programme organised here today by MoWCSW, DFID chief Dr Gail Marzetti said participation of President of Nepal and Prince Harry will make the summit an event of international importance. “Children in Nepal are facing much more challenges than I used to face in 1980’s and 1990s in the UK,” she said, adding that a Nepali girl could be the next noble prize winner but if she gets married early she cannot explore her full potential. Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF representative, said child marriage is a violation of human rights and has an extremely negative impact on girl’s physical, mental and reproductive health. According to UNICEF, over 1.3 million adolescent girls (aged 10-19 years) in Nepal are at risk of being married as children, 24.5 per cent of women aged 15-19 years are currently married and in union and 48.5 per cent of women aged 20-49 years married before their 18th birthdays.   Tries his hand at wood carving KATHMANDU: The British Prince Harry on Sunday visited the historic Patan and Bhaktapur Durbar squares and also met the earthquake victims there. While observing the ancient wood carvings in Patan, the 32–year–old Prince appreciated Nepali craftsmanship, saying he used to admire the artworks in photos at home. Sitting with artisans, the British Prince also tried his hand at wood carving. Prince Harry also visited Golden Temple located near the Patan Durbar Square. Later, Prince Harry visited Bhaktapur Durbar Square and also went to a temporary camp of the earthquake victims at Byasi of Bhaktapur. A ninth grader Purushottam Suwal, 15, guided the Prince through the temporary camps and apprised him of the sufferings of the earthquake victims living there. Prince Harry told the victims to keep patience and that he would come up with necessary support for them. Earlier, the British Prince paid a courtesy call on President Bidhya Devi Bhandari at Shital Niwas. According to the secretariat the President’s Office, Prince Harry and President Bhandari discussed various issues, including the age-old bilateral ties, and support, and mutual cooperation between the two countries.