The UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) convened for the 54th time at the UN Headquarters in New York from March 1 – 12.
The Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW) takes part in the CSW every year as a qualified NGO of the UN.
In addition to partaking in this year’s CSW, KFAW jointly staged a joint international seminar with the Chungcheongnam-do Woman’s Policy Development Institute (CWPDI) of Korea. KFAW signed an academic exchange agreement with CWPDI last November, at the Global NGO Forum for Women that coincided with the regular session of the UN.
☆Empowerment of Women: Best practices and New Challenges in Japan and the Republic of Korea.
The joint seminar was entitled “Empowerment of Women: Best practices and New Challenges in Japan and the Republic of Korea.”
In the first half, organizations from both Japan and Korea reported on the progress made with past efforts to empower women and streamline gender. In the second half, the spotlight was focused on measures to address a declining birthrate, which is an important issue in both Japan and Korea.
Reports were given on the situation and policies of both countries, and the building of environments that facilitate it for women to balance work and family. Opinions were shared with NGO representatives from around the world.
The day of the joint seminar, March 1, coincided with the start of the regular session of the UN. About 90 persons from NGOs and NPOs from around the world were in attendance, which resulted in some having to stand. There were many questions from the floor which asked for example asking about the organizations of KFAW and CWPDI, measures to address the declining birthrate in Korea, percentages of women in the workforce and the practices of balancing life and work.
This was the first time for KFAW to stage a joint seminar outside of Japan with an organization with whom they have an academic exchange agreement. During the UN session, there are many representatives from governments, NGOs and other organizations from around the world, and KFAW wants to further expand its network by providing information from Kitakyushu and Chungcheongnam-do and exchanging opinions.
◆Date & Time March 1 (Mon.), 2010; 14:00 ~ 15:30
◆Place 10th floor conference room, Church Center for the United Nations
777 UN Plaza (Corner of 44th St. and 1st Ave.), New York, USA
◆Attendance 90
◆Program
<Report on good practices which contribute to the empowerment of women>
○Report on “Innovative Projects of KFAW” by Ms. Yoshizaki, President, KFAW
○Report on “CWPDI and Gender Mainstreaming in South Korea” by Dr. Kyung Sook KIM, President, CWPDI
<Reports on New Challenges>
○Report on “Policy Response to Low Birth and Aging Society in South Korea” by Dr. Heon Joo SUH, Research Fellow, CWPDI
○Report on “Policy Response to Low Birth in Japan” by Dr. Masako Ota, Senior Researcher, KFAW
<Discussion>
※You can downroad their presentation materials.
<Reporting resume>
■Ms.Yoshizaki, President, KFAW
■Dr. Kyung Sook KIM, President, CWPDI
■Dr. Heon Joo SUH, Research Fellow, CWPDI
■Dr. Masako Ota, Senior Researcher, KFAW
<Joint seminar program>
■Empowerment of Women: Best practices and New Challenges in Japan and the Republic of Korea
