Participation

Monday, June 11th, marked the official launch of the Women in Public Service Project (WPSP), a program created by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that aims to mentor emerging female leaders from all over the world in public policy and social justice.

The Papua New Guinea parliament failed to pass a proposed Women's Bill to set aside seats for female candidates in time for this month's national elections.

But one candidate is still keen to increase female participation.

She's standing for the NCD regional seat and says she will focus on women's issues if she wins a seat in parliament.

Presenter: Geraldine Coutts

When the UK and USA entered Afghanistan in 2001 they made a promise to improve the lives of Afghan women. In the last ten years there has been some progress in terms of education, the right to work and the freedom of movement. However much remains to be done as Afghan women continue to face gendered discrimination and violence.

At a press conference on 18 June during The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro, Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women calls for women's central role in achieving sustainability. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Prime Minister of Norway and Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Climate Change, joins the press conference.

The Fiji National Council of Women says groups like it should be involved in a new government scheme that aims to teach business skills to women.

The NGO's comments are in response to the Ministry of Social Welfare's Women and Poverty Alleviation plan which is focussing on individuals rather than groups.

It will partner with Indonesia to empower Fiji women in new income generating projects, such as seaweed processing.

At a Week long workshop held last week in Windhoek, Women's Action for Development (WAD) brought stakeholders up to date on its campaign to teach women their rights, and to raise awareness of human rights issues with a gender bias. This campaign is sponsored by the European Union. Head of the EU Delegation, Ambassador Raul Fentes Milani attended the workshop.

The "Must Haves" for Rio+20

To ensure women's voices are heard, Bachelet outlined some of the core themes on the UN Women agenda to be raised at the Rio+20 Summit.

Isabelle de Grave interviews MICHELE BACHELET, Executive Director of UN Women

Unlocking women's energies and allowing them to become drivers of change could fuel the motor of sustainable development.

Liberia made history when it elected Africa's first female president in Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. It was not an easy choice since her opponent was George Weah who had acquired a lot of wealth and popularity especially among the youth thanks to his dazzling football career that saw him once voted as African footballer of the year, World Footballer of the year and European footballer of the year.

Kuito — The minister of Mass Media, Carolina Cerqueira, Wednesday in in Kuito, central Bie province, called on parents and guardians to encourage their children, especially women, to join the schools in order to better participate in local development.

Speaking to the reporters, the Cabinet minister expressed concern over the low number of students attending the schools.