About 100 Gender and Development (GAD) stakeholders will gather at the Provincial Capitol next week for the “Because Women Count” conference, which will focus on the sharing of sex-disaggregated data by various provincial and national government offices.
The event, set for Sept. 16–17 at the Capitol Social Hall, will gather members of the Provincial GAD Focal Point System (PGFPS), its Technical Working Group, and GAD Focal Persons from cities and municipalities.
Provincial GAD Action Officer Marie June Pavillar-Castro said 31 GAD Focal Persons and selected sectoral leaders are also invited. Board Member Rita Gatuslao, chair of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Women and Family, will open the program at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 16.
The Provincial Health Office, Negros Occidental Comprehensive Health Program, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, and the Women and Children’s Protection Desk of the Provincial Police Office will present their data in the morning. In the afternoon, presentations will come from the Department of Education–Negros Occidental Division, Carlos Hilado State University, Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center, and the Provincial Environment and Management Office.
Open forums on health, social services, violence against women, education, livelihood, and gender and biodiversity are scheduled throughout the day.
On Sept. 17, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, PGFPS chair, will address participants at 1:30 p.m. Before his message, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Provincial Human Resource and Management Office, and Office of the Provincial Agriculturist will present their GAD data, followed by discussions on leadership, decision-making, and women’s participation in agriculture.
The Department of Migrant Workers and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration will also share their data, with a forum on migrant workers’ issues set for 1 p.m.
The “Because Women Count” conference is part of the Intensifying Gender Equality and Women Empowerment project of the Office of the Governor. ||
