Date and venue: 2pm-3pm, Thursday 26th October 2023, SPC Library, Noumea, New Caledonia
Format: Interactive panel discussion with interpretation of English and French.
Conveners: SPC’s Women in Leadership and Pacific Women Lead Programmes
Audience: SPC members and partners attending CRGA and Conference, SPC Staff
Hear from Pacific Island leaders sharing their valuable insights and perspectives on gender equality programming. They will also talk about SPC’s new Gender Equality Flagship approach and its contribution to transformational change at national and regional levels, along with new challenges surfacing as a result of the flagship approach and acting on gender equality commitments.
Hear from panellists and contributors including the Honourable Lenora Qereqeretabua , Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Fiji; Mereseini Rakuita, SPC's Principal Strategic Lead – Pacific Women and Girls; Miles Young, Director, SPC Human Rights and Social Development (HRSD) Division, Dr. Frances Vaka'uta, Leader, SPC HRSD Culture for Development; and more.
Background: The Pacific Community (SPC) recognizes the importance of gender equality and has developed a Gender Equality Flagship initiative to support member governments to drive action and to implement national and regional gender commitments, policies and approaches. This includes support for the Implementation Plan for the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.
To ensure that this flagship initiative is effective and relevant, it is essential to seek reflections from member governments and assess its fit for purpose. To achieve this, a panel discussion will be convened, bringing together senior government officials and SPC technical teams.
The panellists will include senior government officials and SPC teams. Additionally, SPC technical teams will be present to provide insights and clarifications regarding the flagship initiative.
SPC is committed to improving gender equality, women’s empowerment and ending violence against women and girls. We each have a role to play by working with government, civil society, faith-based organisations and other partners across the Pacific region, SPC is ensuring gender equality is integrated into the way we work, across our broad range of divisions and community programmes.
To view a list of SPC's Gender Equality Initiatives, visit: https://bit.ly/49a8lZG
Moderator: Mr. Miles Young, Director – Human Rights and Social Development Division, SPC
Panellists (7mins per panellist):
- The Honourable Lenora Qereqeretabua, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Fiji
- Ms. Peleni Talagi, Secretary of Government, Niue
- Ms Antonia Browne, Director – Director of the Pacific Regional Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Cook Islands
- Ms. Elina Akinaga ,Secretary/Minister – Federated States of Micronesia
Contributors:
- Ms. Mereseini Rakuita, SPC Principal Strategic Lead – Pacific Women and Girls
- Dr. Frances Vaka'uta, Team Leader, SPC HRSD Culture for Development.
- Maria Fuata, SPC Deputy-Director General, Operations and Integration
To join the Charting the Pathway for Gender Equality in the Pacific: Strengthening the Flagship for a sustainable and prosperous Blue Pacific via zoom, visit:
https://spc.zoom.us/j/95709229258?pwd=UFNkZEtVS1JNQ3NTejZxOXcxMEh4UT09