Women taking the lead to develop and critically review future gender equality projects for Fiji

There are more than 30 initiatives in Fiji supported by the Fiji Women’s Fund and the Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development (Pacific Women) program, such as the Naitasiri Women in Dairy and its expansion into mushroom farming, Fiji Women’s Rights Movement and the Young Feminist Rise Project and the Graduate Women Fiji’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Summer Camp for Girls.

The two-day Reflection and Planning Workshop was attended by women and men from civil society, government and development partner organisations, who are grant recipients and partners of Pacific Women and the Fiji Women’s Fund.

Australian High Commissioner to Fiji, John Feakes, explained ‘it is the third consecutive year the workshop has been held to ensure grantees are given the opportunity to share their project’s successes and challenges, to help each other further improve their Fiji initiatives.’

‘This annual reflection event is important as it goes beyond the exchange of knowledge and practical wisdom from real-world experiences, to providing invaluable connections between women grantees,’ Mr Feakes said.

‘The work of grantees focusses on supporting women and girls in leaderships roles, ending gender-based violence, and encouraging women’s economic empowerment,’ he said.

Building on previous years, the workshop’s approach recognises the expertise of partners and grantees and the importance of spaces to learn, share and build relationships, networks and capacity. The workshop aims to strengthen partners relationships in formal and informal ways, encourage knowledge sharing and skills exchange.

Director of the Pacific Community’s (SPC) Social Development Programme (Gender, Culture & Youth), Leituala Kuiniselani Toelupe Tago-Elisara, said ‘having the space to discuss and share reflections should be a significant part of our organisations’ approach towards embedding a culture of learning, striving for continuous improvement and documenting lessons and evidence that enables thought leadership across the various areas of our work.’

‘I congratulate the organisers for this annual undertaking to not only generate dialogue on lessons, but to further develop skills, create conversations and strengthen networks for the benefit of organisations and individuals alike,” Ms Toelupe Tago-Elisara said.

In the previous two, annual Reflection and Planning Workshops, partners and grantees highly rated the quality of the events especially the strategic discussions, panel sessions and networking.

The workshop was held at the Holiday Inn, Suva, from 26–27 November 2019.

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Background

Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development (Pacific Women) is a 10-year AU$320 million Australian Government commitment to improve the political, economic and social opportunities of Pacific women. It supports 14 Pacific countries to meet the commitments made in the Pacific Leaders’ Gender Equality Declaration working with a range of partners including Pacific governments, civil society organisations, regional and multilateral agencies and the private sector.

Fiji Women’s Fund (the Fund) is an initiative of Pacific Women. It has a special focus on reaching women living in rural and remote areas and those who are marginalised, including women with disabilities and those experiencing some form of discrimination. The Fund has committed AU$10.5 million (2017–2022) for funding and capacity development support to women’s groups, networks, and organisations in Fiji to expand and enhance their work on women’s empowerment and gender equality. The Fund is the only one of its kind in the Pacific region and offers a unique proposition in that it works with women’s groups traditionally not considered by many funding agencies. Since its inception, the Fund has disbursed FJ$1.35 million in grants to 25 women’s groups, organisations and networks.

Contact

Fiji Women’s Fund Phone                   : +679 331 4033 Email                     : Erica.Lee@womensfund.org.fj Website               : www.womensfundfiji.org/

Pacific Women Support Unit Phone                   : +679 331 4098 Email                     : information@pacificwomen.org Website               : www.pacificwomen.org