A non-government organization working for the promotion and protection of the rights and welfare of women and children and eliminating gender inequality in the country continues with its capacity building through seminar workshops among local officials, government workers, and even law enforcement personnel.
This, as officials of the Women Involved in Nation-Building (WIN) shared to Baguio journalists on Oct. 19 that those in the grassroots level must know first-hand the projects, programs, and policies geared towards women and children empowerment.
WIN Chairperson Maria Corazon del Mundo said the group is a partner of the United Nations in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) particularly goal five which promotes gender equality.
Around 250 participants from all over the country joined the first batch of WIN-sponsored regional workshop at Hotel Supreme on Oct. 19 to 21 while another 250 participants will be part of the second batch set on Oct. 24 to 26.
WIN President Victoria Aragon said there is a growing number of interested participants especially from the government sector, as many local government units saw the need to give focus in addressing the concerns of the women sector that was highly-impacted during the pandemic.
This year’s regional seminar-workshop’s theme “Utilizing the Sustainable Development Goals as Company for Post-pandemic Recovery” also aims to promote gender equality and reduced inequalities to empower one of the most vulnerable sectors in society.
Topics lined up during the seminar-workshop are determining the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic on Filipino children using the SDG as a yardstick; Money mindset, and success; Knowing the impacts of the Covid-19 on Filipino women and girls; Republic Act 11313, or the Safe Spaces Act; and How do we chart a more pandemic-responsive future for our communities.
Experts from various fields served as resources speakers during the seminar-workshop.
Del Mundo also said among the issues and concerns to be tackled during the seminar-workshop was the reported increased by 30 percent in cases of violence against women and children during the pandemic.
One of the women’s groups assisted by WIN, the handwoven group of Paratong in Bangar, La Union, was also invited to display the export-quality products of the association. The town of Bangar is known as the home of the world-famous inabel blanket, as the handwoven product called “abel” is distinguished from all other Asian textiles for its sturdiness in construction, stark simplicity of design, and practicality in function. – Harley F. Palangchao
