The Zonta club of Jyväskylä I arranged their ZONTA SAYS NO event on October 10, 2013; a day before International Girls Day. The title of the event was “WE SPEAK FOR SAFETY OF GIRLS AND WOMEN”. In a city like Jyväskylä the audience of close to 70 was a success, thanks to the visibility, they succeeded to get in the main newspapers in advance, and thanks to our four professional speakers!

They are truly proud of the competent and wise presentation of our their club member Eeva Gröhn, who has decades of professional experience in health sector, covering both on her presentation topic “YOUNG GIRLS AND SEX”, as well as on various problems of women, including violence done by their own husbands.

Also the three other speakers were experts of their own fields. Eila Koivuniemi, the local Head of Criminal Police – and a female – gave the club a comprehensive speech with reality and facts about “CRIMES TOWARDS WOMEN IN MIDDLE FINLAND”.

Also the presentation of a female Therapist and Photographer Riitta Piltonen was of great interest. She shared her knowledge and experience on “METHOD OF EMPOWERING PHOTOGRAPHY”. With this method she has helped women to survive from the violence caused by their husbands and to start a new life. She has also guided young girls to build their identity to right direction using photograghy.

A presentation was given also by Esa Linna who is a Youth Counselor and Inernet Expert. We got a good overview on how teenagers use Internet – from informative channels to image galleries and chat forums. Web plays a significant role for young girls when building their identity. It can also cause troubles, if leading to wrong kind of relationships or too early dating – or even exploitation.

Between the presentations the club also introduced the Area 20 –project SUPERSISKOT, which also is an internet forum for young girls in Finland. And encouraged people to support this project, and in December the club donated a reasonable amount to the project.