National Women’s Education Center of Japan

The National Women’s Education Center, Japan (NWEC) organized the “2010 Empowerment Seminar for Women Leaders in the Asia Pacific Region” from September 29 to October 10 under the theme of “Development of Women’s Leaders: Implications from Japanese Experience”. A total of 14 women leaders working for national machineries, nongovernmental organizations, or research institutions participated in the seminar from 11 countries in the Asia Pacific Region (Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Palau, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Philippines, Viet Nam).

On September 30, the party of participants arrived at NWEC. They attended a program orientation and then were lectured about the history, functions, and operations of NWEC. After lunch, they received a lecture from Dr. Kazuo Kuroda, Professor, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University on to what extent the Japanese experience can be applied to the context of developing countries in light of the history of the promotion of girls’ and women’s education under the Japanese educational system. Participants also visited the Information Center for Women’s Education and the Women’s Archives Center.

On the second day of the seminar, participants spent all day presenting their country report and discussing the status quo of girls’ and women’s education and measures to develop women leaders in their own country. Also, on the same day, participants from African countries who were staying at NWEC to participate in the “JICA Training Programme for Young Leaders for Francophone African Countries / Administrative Management Course” listened to presentations by the participants of the Empowerment Seminar.

On October 3, participants moved to Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture to visit the Yayoi Yoshioka Memorial Hall and the Shiseido Corporate Museum.
On October 4, at Shizuoka City Women’s Center, AICEL 21, they received a lecture from Ms. Mitsue Matsushita, Designated Manager on the operations of AICEL 21, and toured its facilities. Then they exchanged views with the staff of AICEL 21 on the promotion of gender equality in Japan and the Asia Pacific Region. In the afternoon, as a case study on women’s participation in society through entrepreneurship, they listened to presentations from Ms. Masayo Sonoda, President of Hokkyoku Shirokumado Inc. and Ms. Makoto Sato, President of Hair Supply Peer Inc.

On the following day, participants visited the Gender Equality Bureau of Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and Ochanomizu University to deepen their understanding of the gender equality policy pursued by the Japanese Government and leadership education and support for women researchers provided by the universities. Participants also learned about the “Summer School for Female Students of Junior High and High Schools” hosted by NWEC in August.

On October 8, to give further impetus to discussions on policy recommendations regarding education and women’s leadership based on what was learned in the seminar, an expert meeting was held. Ms. Koto Kanno, visiting scholar of NWEC and former Head of UNESCO Nepal, Dr. Hyunjoo Song, Professor, Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion & Education, and Ms. Maki Hayashikawa, Education Specialist, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office were invited to the meeting as commentators. Participants reported the results of their ten-day seminar training and prepared presentation materials for the International Forum held the following day.

On the final day, October 9, to raise questions about the role of education in developing women leaders, which is a challenge common to each country, and make presentations on policy recommendations, participants participated as panelists in the “2010 International Forum for Women’s Empowerment,” which was held in Tokyo.

Despite a busy schedule of attending lectures and visiting various places, participants were also blessed with opportunities to learn Japanese history and culture. At the History Museum established at Ochanomizu University, which the participants visited on October 5, they looked at exhibits related to the progress of higher education for women in Japan. Meanwhile, on October 7, participants attended a class hosted by NWEC volunteers to teach them how to make etegami (hand-drawn postcard) by painting using brushes and pigments for the first time.

The following opinions were expressed by participants: “The seminar provided me with a valuable opportunity to grasp the whole picture of how women leaders are being developed in different countries including Japan”, “I intend to continue to work hard toward the development of women leaders, taking advantage of the personal network built through the seminar”, etc.

Cordial thanks are extended to all those concerned for kindly accepting the participation of the participants in the seminar, and to the lecturers and volunteers for their generous support and cooperation.