To read the full report click here.
Executive Summary
On 30 November 2017, Vanuatu civil society and government representatives who attended the 13th Triennial Conference for Pacific Women in Fiji gathered in Port Vila to report back to Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) about the learnings and outcomes of the conference.
Triennial Conference
The Triennial Conference in Suva, Fiji on 2-6 October 2017 was an important opportunity for members of CSOs from Vanuatu. A delegation of CSO representatives travelled from Vanuatu to Fiji to attend, giving them an opening to influence and inform regional policy on gender equality and women’s rights, and carry Ni-Vanuatu women’s perspectives to the discussions. The delegates included representatives of Vanuatu Women’s Centre, UN Women, Vanuatu Young Women for Change, World Vision, Action Aid, Oxfam, CARE International, V Pride, Vanuatu Society for People with Disabilities, and Mammas English Class, as well as representatives of government. Funding for five delegates came from the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat Strengthening Non-State Actors Engagement in Regional Policy Development and Implementation Program. Further funding for delegates came from Australian Aid, World Vision, CARE, We Rise Coalition, UN Women, and the Vanuatu Department of Women’s Affairs. These delegates were chosen through a selection process run by Vanuatu’s Gender and Protection Cluster.
Pre-Conference Consultation
Ahead of the Triennial Conference, a pre-conference consultation workshop with CSOs from Vanuatu was held in Port Vila on 22 September 2017 to gather perspectives from diverse voices within Vanuatu’s Civil Society to enable delegates to fully represent Vanuatu’s perspective at the Triennial Conference.
Post Triennial Conference
After the Triennial Conference, CARE International hosted a follow up forum to the 13th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women in Port Vila, Vanuatu. At the forum, conference delegates reported back to interested Vanuatu civil society about the learnings and outcomes from the Triennial Conference. Over 100 participants attended the forum. They participated in an interactive session about the history of women’s development in Vanuatu, a panel discussion with the conference delegates, and group discussions centred on the five key themes of the PPA and the Triennial Conference. Key female leaders, including the Director of the Department of Women’s Affairs, Dorosday Kenneth, Hilda Lini, Virian Molisa, Sabrina Brown and Australian High Commissioner Jenny Da Rin, also gave presentations at the forum. The forum concluded with the launch of CARE’s Young Women’s Leadership Program, held at the forum to capitalise on the momentum and spirit it generated.
The pre-conference consultation and follow up forum were hosted by CARE International and made possible thanks to the funding provided for the Vanuatu Gender and Protection Cluster network through the Strengthening Non-State Actors Engagement in Regional Policy Development and Implementation Program (the NSA Program). This program is funded through the European Union’s 10th European Development Fund (EDF10) and implemented by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. CARE’s Gender Equality Together Program is supported by the Australian Government.