A big VINAKA VAKALEVU (thanks) to Vanuatu Young Women For Change, Anne Pakoa and the diverse rural women leaders and first respondents of Vanuatu for opening up your space and affirming our feminist media work in Fiji and in the region.
We held our first Climate Finance awareness session in Vanuatu with almost 50 diverse rural women leaders from communities around Port Villa.
There was an emphasis of discussion on disaster preparedness, violence against women and girls, information access and sharing climate finance information that the grassroots and low income earners should understand in order to help in their disaster responses and recovery. We acknowledge the space where there were lots of sharing especially post COVID and their genuine gratitude to a space where they can connect and learn each other’s work and of course our feminist media work and it’s important role in amplifying their voices towards influence and advocacy towards change. There were lots of discussion and joy we all shared.
We all look forward to a much strengthened regional relationship building and networking that is needed in connecting all our feminist and social movement building work. Vinaka VanCare Insurance Limited for your attendance and useful information session to support climate finance access to our rural communities. Acknowledging UN Capital Development Fund for this collaboration work with femLINKpacific and seeing the value and significance of diverse rural women in accessing climate insurance and helping build stronger community resilience in the face of climate crises.
femLINKpacific at Women Deliver – Oceania
The 2 days Women Deliver Oceania conference took place in Melbourne that convened around 300 participants that included Oceanic representatives. This was a build up from the Pacific Feminist Forum we had in Fiji.
Panels during the sessions included a few prominent and fierce women in leadership including Fiji’s former Minister for Women and Poverty and now the SPC’s Principal Strategic Lead, Ms Mereseini Rakuita and Ambassador for Gender Equality (Pacific) Louisa Wall.
On gender mainstreaming, Ms Rakuita shared that we have great global commitments however when it comes down to resourcing at national level, there is no budget to properly resource violence against women work and responses.
Ambassador Wall spoke strongly on dismantling colonialism and how it continues to affect our lives today, how resourcing should prioritise those that are working with diverse and grassroots communities and resourcing communities to drive the change especially within the climate crises.
Second day discussions emphasised a lot on the planning and logistics of representatives that will be attending the Women Deliver in Kigali, Africa. The Women Deliver 2023 Conference (WD2023) will take place in-person in Kigali, Rwanda, as well as virtually, from 17-20 July 2023. WD2023 will convene 6,000 in Kigali, Rwanda which will become the first biggest Gender Equality Conference to take place in the African continent. There will be almost 60 Oceanic delegation which is a big achievement for the Pacific and we will be taking with us our regional outcomes document from the Pacific Feminist Forum that was held in Fiji in May, 2023.
The We Rise Coalition partners that consists of Brown Girl Woke of Samoa, Sista Vanuatu, FWRM, Voice for Change-PNG, femLINKpacific and IWDA-Australia also utilised the opportunity to meet with the IWDA team in Melbourne.
Programme Manager and Co-Lead Maria Nailevu attended the Melbourne event. We acknowledge the Australian Government through the International Women’s Development Agency – IWDA under our We Rise Coalition for supporting the participation of femLINKpacific in this global space.
We acknowledge the Australian Government through the International Women’s Development Agency – IWDA under our We Rise Coalition for supporting the participation of femLINKpacific in this global space.
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