In Italy, the Italian All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) "Global Health and Women's rights", in collaboration with AIDOS, organized an event at the Chamber of Deputies. The event gathered MPs of the Committee on External and Communitarian (EU) Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies and Senators. The Vice Minister of International cooperation, Emanuela Del Re, also attended. During the event, the APPG and AIDOS presented the "Building Bridges among Africa and Europe to tackle FGM" project, supported by the UNFPA/UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM and the video "Against All Odds". The video, produced by AIDOS, tells the true story of Charity, a girl from Masai Mara (Kenya) who at the age of 12 was the first to say no to FGM in her village.

In Paris, for the first time, 14 organizations came together under the banner of "Collective Prevent and Protect" to organize a common event. Among them gathered two End FGM EU Network members: Equipop and Excision Parlons-En !. The event was organised around two main themes: ‘Protection of children and adolescents’ and ‘Building bridges between Africa & Europe and community engagement’. The programme consisted of four conferences and an ephemeral museum showcasing information tools of participating organisations including the Network tool "How to talk about FGM" and the UEFGM platform.

The International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM/C is the annual opportunity for GAMS Belgium to shed light on the importance of fighting this harmful practise together. In Belgium, more than 17,000 women have undergone FGM and in the last number of years 1,800 girls were granted international protection based on the risk of FGM. An encouraging number, but it is still not enough.

#TogetherWithGirls is GAMS Belgium’s slogan for this year’s campaign. “Together With Girls”, because no one should tolerate the consequences of FGM on affected women and girls. GAMS Belgium adopts a community-based approach in its everyday fight for a world free of female genital mutilation. The main message we want to communicate with this campaign is that everybody should get involved, out of solidarity for fighting all types of violence cause by FGM.

Médicos del Mundo Spain organized and carried out 17 sensitisation activities in 11 Spanish provinces as from February the 2nd until February the 9th. These activities included, among others, the following actions: performances, video forums, debates & conferences, workshops, leaflets distribution, participatory panels, interactive games and other recreational activities, photo exhibitions, photocalls, information stands, raffle, African chores, music & gastronomy, reading of manifesto, meetings with stakeholders, etc. 

Orchid Project's grassroots partner S.A.F.E. Kenya, celebrated a historic moment for the Loita Hills' Maasai community, as over 3,000 people gathered to publicly declare an end to FGC. Orchid Project and S.A.F.E. have been working in partnership for a number of years, and this declaration is the result of nearly a decade of work that has been devised and led by the local Maasai community.

Joined by activists from around the world, Orchid Project held a live Facebook discussion to a global audience listening in from countries including India, the UK, Senegal, Singapore, Ethiopia, the USA, Kenya and beyond.

UNAF (Unión de Asociaciones Familiares) organized its eighth International Conference. Aligned with the strategic objectives and lines of work of this network, one of the main conclusions of the conference was the need for coordinated action by countries of origin and destination, with transnational intervention strategies and a comprehensive approach, including "the development of migration, refuge and cooperation policies with human rights, sexual education from feminism and interculturality, and the psychological care and accompaniment of women and girls for prevention, reparation and care".

The Finnish League for Human Rights invited Somali organisations to discuss FGM and its various consequences. Young and old, men and women, shared their views and experiences openly. From this event it is clear that FGM is becoming less and less of a taboo in Finland. The key message from this event was the need to work together to end the practice! In addition to this event, Ihmisoikeusliitto re-distributed stories told by people who participated in their groups.

Pharos and FSAN, as part of Platform 6/2, organised an annual conference with the theme “Change Through Connection”. This year, the emphasis of the conference was put on involving the communities’ members in the global Dutch chain approach of Violence Against Women (VAW). The key message from the event was the need for cooperation between all actors engaged in the field of prevention, care, law enforcement and education. Positive change is only possible with collaboration of all parties involved.