National Women’s Education Center of Japan

　The Korean Women’s Development Institute (KWDI), which maintains a cooperation agreement with NWEC, hosted the 17th Asia-Pacific Forum on Development and Gender on November 19, 2025 at the KWDI International Conference Hall in Seoul. The forum’s theme was “Strengthening Gender Considerations in Policy: Toolkit for Mainstreaming and Implementing Gender Equality.”
　The event opened with KWDI introducing the institutionalization of gender budgeting and gender statistics as a toolkit for gender mainstreaming in South Korea. Subsequently, President Hagiwara, Kyung Hee Kim (Chairperson, Asia Women Bridge DoRunDoRun), Sudha Gooty (Senior Regional Advisor and Team Lead on Gender Equality, UNDP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific), and Cheongsoo Nam (Gender Development Cooperation Specialist, KOICA) made presentations on their respective approaches toward gender mainstreaming, which was followed by a roundtable discussion.
　NWEC has also established a cooperation agreement with the Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion & Education (KIGEPE). Prior to the forum, NWEC visited KIGEPE and the organizations exchanged opinions on their activities. Since 2018, South Korea has made it a legal requirement for all personnel working in public institutions to receive training on violence prevention and gender-related issues. KIGEPE is responsible for various educational programs, including those for public service workers, and the organization briefed us on programs for public service workers, along with initiatives to develop specialists, such as the certification system for violence prevention instructors and national training support frameworks.