General News

The Center Convenes Women Leaders from the Pacific Rim

The Center for Women Policy Studies is delighted to announce our new program for women leaders from Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and the Pacific Rim states of the United States – developed in collaboration with the National Women's Education Center (NWEC) of Japan and with the generous support of the Center for Global Partnership of the Japan Foundation. With our partners, the Korean Women's Development Institute (KWDI) and the Center for Women's Studies of the University of the Philippines System (UPCWS), the Center and NWEC convened the first-ever Multidisciplinary Intellectual Exchange for Women Leaders from Japan, Korea, Philippines and USA in Honolulu, Hawaii in April 2012.

Our stellar group of women academic, policy, and civil society leaders from each country came together to create a new network and new strategies to combat trafficking of women and girls as a women’s human rights crisis. Through this intensive program, participants examined the impact of their countries’ migration and trafficking laws and policies on women who migrate – paying particular attention to migrant women's vulnerability to trafficking and to policies to address trafficking of women for forced labor in each of our countries. Because our four countries represent the spectrum of source, transit, and destination countries for traffickers, we explored ways to ensure that our Governments protect women at every stage. During our four days together, we shared information, learned from one another and strategized together across sectors and country borders to create a Pacific Rim sisterhood that will continue to work together to combat trafficking and to ensure the safety of migrant women. Together, this network of women leaders developed new strategies to promote policies and improve programs that ensure the safety of women during all stages of migration – and to protect women from traffickers.

Multidisciplinary Intellectual Exchange participants with University of Hawaii President, M.R.C. Greenwood at College Hill in Honolulu, Hawaii We are especially grateful to our local partner, Globalization Research Center at the University of Hawaii at and University of Hawaii System President M.R.C. - who hosted the program

The support and encouragement of Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie inspired the participants - and the Center remains grateful to Governor Abercrombie for his long standing support of women's human rights and his encouragement of the Center's work. The Governor's reception for our participants introduced them to historic Washington Place - and to many women leaders in Hawaii's legislature and community.

The Center is honored to be part of powerful new network and we will continue to support the participants' implementation of both their individual country plans and their four-country sector plans to engage other academic leaders, civil society organizations, and elected officials. We will continue to build upon the unprecedented partnerships among the 23 women leaders who joined us in Honolulu and their colleagues in legislatures/assemblies, civil society organizations, and academic institutions. We look forward to our continuing work together to promote women's human rights and save women's lives, working across borders and over time, through this new Pacific Rim

Additional Information

Country: United States of America
Website: N/A
Email: Center for Women Policy Studies
Phone: N/A
Contact Person: N/A
Source: http://centerwomenpolicy.org/news/newsletter/httpwww.centerwomenpolicy.orgnewsnewsletterEnewsMay24_2012.asp
When: 29/5/2012

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