Fiji: Efforts continue to Strengthen Rural Women
By Sharon Bhagwan Rolls
09 June 2011
Nadi, Fiji Islands
While the work towards the development of a Regional Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security is gaining traction at the
regional level, in 25 women leaders and young women from the rural grassroots communities are attending the second
series of consultations building on monthly “1325” network meetings convened in 4 rural centres every month, including
Nadi where FemLINKPACIFIC is working this week.
This week’s consultation and weekend community radio broadcast is once again enabled with support from the UNDP
supported Strengthening Capacities for Peace and Development Programme (CPAD), the International Women’s Development
Agency supported Generation Next Project, as well as the “Strengthening Women in Local Government” project of the
Commonwealth Local Government Forum.
Gender, Peace and Development:
While the initiative is grounded in FemLINKPACIFIC’s work in advancing implementation of UN Security Council Resolution
1325, it is also about providing a space for women to engage in their own dialogue processes and collaborate to access
and transform the power and decision making structures in their communities, by providing a space for women to prepare
for the Interactive Policy Dialogue scheduled with the office of the Commissioner Western on Friday.
The preparatory discussions are enabling the participants to come together and identify their collective development
priorities as well as engage in dialogue and discussion to enhance understanding and solidarity amongst women’s groups
as well.
These issues and dialogue processes are a channel for women to ensure greater emphasis is placed on integrating
UNSCR1325 and human security in the national peace and security agenda.
Discussions are also informing the strengthening of FemLINKPACIFIC’s community media network in Fiji which currently
links women in 4 rural centres with the community media centre “hub” in the capital city. This would build on the
current use of community media, including community radio productions. The participants are informing the organisation
how they are and how they would like to receive more information including using text messaging. This would build on
FemLINKPACIFIC’s Women’s Weather Watch text system which is activated for its network which enables women to be updated
and also share information from their local communities.
Generation Next:
This week’s consultation will culminate in a community radio broadcast, once again in partnership with McDonalds and the
broadcast will bring together young women producers and broadcasters from FemLINKPACIFIC’s Generation Next project in
Suva and Nadi.
The Generation Next project is FemLINKPACIFIC’s youth project involving young women in Suva as well as Nadi and Labasa
who are supported to be community media producers and broadcasters. The project provides a space for the young women to
have a voice in the discussions which too often are limited to older women and traditional leaders or officials.
Radio programmes produced during the consultations will air on FemTALK 89.2FM as part of the station’s 7th anniversary
on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 June from 9am to 3pm.
The consultation, dialogue and community radio activities are designed to:
• Support participants to articulate their peace and human security priorities which will be formulated into a
community level action plans on UNSCR 1325
• Provide participants with appropriate education materials
• Demonstrate the use of community media as a means of documenting issues to ensure women’s perspectives are
highlighted and to inform dialogue and Peacebuilding processes
• Strengthen and enhance our rural women’s media network, contributing to a vibrant national women’s
information-communication network
• Deepen the philosophical understanding of Peace and Security and Non Violence terms and approaches currently
being undertaken by peace practitioners
• Enhance and up skill Non Violence action and strategies for women participation in society
• Provide a space for dialogue between participants and key government counterparts to better inform these
agencies of women’s efforts at national, regional and international level to implement UN Security Council Resolution
1325
ENDS