The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) is organizing the SPC 9th Pacific Conference for Women to be held from 16 to 19 August at the Tradewinds Convention center at Lami, Suva. The 2nd Pacific Ministerial conference will follow on 20 August at the same location.

Taking place ten years after the endorsement of the Pacific Platform for Action, the two meetings will try to assess the progress towards the goal of gender equality and thus will be convened under the theme “Gender equality: Commitment or tokenism?”

Women’s organizations and civil society groups from all 22 member countries and territories in the Pacific community are expected to turn out in force for the events which are also likely to generate interest among development stakeholders, donor partners and advocates working towards gender equality in the Asian and the Pacific region.

The already-substantive progress and research done indicates there will be a lively debate on actions taken in the last decade towards the goal of empowered Pacific women”, commented SPC Women’s Development Adviser Sivia Qoro.

The two meetings will cover such emerging issues as women and HIV/AIDS, trade and globalization, and renewed strategies to combat violence against women. They will also discuss the regional response to calls for equality and empowerment made in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The outcomes of the meetings are to be incorporated into the reviewing of Pacific progress on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted in 1995.

Meanwhile, the Government of the Fiji Islands is preparing to host another major event for Pacific women; the 7th Commonwealth Women’s Ministers’ Meeting to take place at Fiji from 30 May to 2 June.
(Source: SPC Press Releases, 21 April)