National Women’s Education Center of Japan

The National Women’s Education Center hosted the “2019 Seminar for Gender Equality Officers and Women Leaders in the Asia Region” from October 1 to 5, under the theme “Achieving SDGs through Gender Perspectives.” Ten government officials and NGO leaders involved in the field of gender equality from five Asian countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, South Korea, Myanmar and Viet Nam) participated in this seminar.　

During their stay at NWEC, the participants attended a lecture about the NEWC’s mission, its role as an organization to promote gender equality, and took a tour of the Information Center for Women’s Education as well as the “Beate Sirota Gordon Exhibition” held by the Women’s Archives Center. They also received information about research and training programs conducted by NWEC.

During the country report presentation, the participants exchanged views and opinions about successful examples and issues relating to the promotion of the SDGs in the five participating countries. As examples of efforts being made by civil society, Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP) made a report on a maternal support project in Zambia (training of maternal and child health promotion officials; educational activities for local residents; and construction of houses for parturient women), as well as a promotion project in Myanmar to spread sanitary napkins through education on menstruation, and conducted a workshop.

On the third day, the participants visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan to attend a lecture on the policies taken by the Japanese government to achieve the SDGs and promote gender equality.

During the latter half of the training program, the participants made a study tour in the suburbs of Sapporo.

Sapporo Center for Gender Equality established in 2003 is engaging in an extensive range of projects including workshops and human resources development relating to gender equality, counseling, research and studies. The participants made a study tour around the co-working space for women, and learned about their efforts to provide employment support for women caring for children. The participants asked a number of questions such as “How do you secure financial resources for conducting such a variety of programs?” and “How much recognition has the center gained by the citizens of Sapporo?”

In Sapporo, the group visited companies and organizations engaged in the promotion of the SDGs, and had an opportunity to exchange views and opinions. Nissindo, a printing company in Sapporo, is producing banana paper from banana stems that were used to be discarded in Zambia, and selling eco name cards in Japan, contributing to the creation of employment opportunities for Zambian women.

On the last day, the participants visited Ambitious Farm in Ebetsu that is practicing sustainable agriculture in consideration of food safety and environmental conservation. Ambitious Farm adopts flexible work arrangements so that workers can appreciate the pleasure of agriculture. The farm was listed in the Women’s Active Participation in Agricultural Management “WAP100” selected by Japan Agricultural Corporations Association in 2017.

After attending the closing ceremony held at Sapporo Center for Gender Equality, the participants returned to their home countries on October 6.