A high-level conference on Women’s Leadership and Political Participation kicked off at the Forum Fisheries Agency Conference Centre in Honiara on Tuesday morning.
The three days conference which was attended by representatives from neighbouring Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, Samoa and Solomon Islands.
It was officially opened by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.
The conference has three main agendas which included Recalling Our Struggle and Celebrating Our Journey, Reform for Changing the Game and Voice Rights and Transformation.
The conference is being organized as a preparatory event for two significant reforms that will be initiated in Solomon Islands this year.
The two significant reforms are the Political Party Integrity Act and the Electoral Provisions Act.
The conference is intended to offer an opportunity for stakeholders in the country and experts from other Pacific islands countries to engage in in-depth dialogue on how best to increase women’s participation and representation in leadership and politics.
It is expected that the recommendation from the conference will be included among the reforms of these two significant Acts, with the aim of making the overall legislative frame inclusive, fairer and more equitable thereby providing an optimal for increasing women’s participation and representatives.
The conference was organized by the Political Integrity Commission, the European Union and the United Nations Development Program in partnership with the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission, the Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the National Parliament.
By Biriau Wilson Saeni
