The forecast has been significantly downgraded compared to six months ago and predicts that, at best, the global economy will “muddle through” with the growth of world gross product (WGP) reaching 2.6 per cent in the baseline outlook for 2012 and 3.2 per cent for 2013, down from 4.0 per cent in 2010. 2012 is projected to be a make-or-break year in terms of proceeding with slow economic recovery or falling back into recession.

For more information: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/index.shtml

United Nations, New York: The US Federation for Middle East Peace President Mrs. Sally Kader is pleased to request the honor of your presence at The International Day of Persons with Disabilities Conference in the Kingdom of Bahrain on January 21 – 22, 2012.

For the first time in the Middle East, leaders across contents will discuss the inclusion of disabled persons in development in a region that has been making courageous stride towards mainstreaming disabilities.“The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities became the first new human rights treaty of the 21st century” states Mrs. Kader quoting President Obama’s recent statement. The conference will highlight this year’s theme of “Together for a Better World for All: Including persons with disabilities in development and Inclusion.”

USFMEP is concerned with the predicament of all disabled persons especially those who are disabled as a result of conflict, war and natural disaster. We see this as part of our commitment to ending the devastation of war and all its atrocities. Our president Mrs. Sally Kader affirms, “It is our intention to advance equitable development that incorporates policies and best practices of inclusion and access for all disabled persons”

The conference, organized by The USFMEP and co-sponsored by the United Nations ECOSOC, will include high level dignitaries from the United Nations as well as international experts in the field of disabilities, inclusion and accessibility. A workshop for caregivers will be offered in addition to motivational programming on creativity presented by prominent artists and sports figures. A gala event with entertainment, a children’s performance and a day of touring the country of Bahrain will conclude the program. We sincerely hope that you will be available to attend this informative and enlightening event.

The U.S. Federation for Middle East Peace (USFMEP) is a non-profit, organization which promotes the United Nations principles and commitment to international Peace, Security and Justice through community outreach efforts. USFMEP works on Empowerment of Women, the promotion of UN SC 1325 Resolution, Human Rights, the convention on Rights of the Child, Youth Leadership and Interfaith and intercultural Dialogue at the United Nations and around the world. We have established networks and liaison offices in four continents to help raise awareness on issues of concern.

For more information please contact: unoffice@usfmep.org __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

US Federation for Middle East Peace 777 United Nations Plaza Suite “C” New York, NY 10017 www.usfmep.org Ph: (212) 922–0300 Fax: (646) 688-5582 Email: unoffice@usfmep.org

The theme for the day was “Together for a better world for all: Including persons with disabilities in development” and the Director of UN DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development, Daniela Bas urged, “To ensure people with disabilities do not remain invisible, we must strengthen the foundation of development policies at all levels.”

The event featured a vocal performance by students from the New York Institute for Special Education, two panel discussions on the themes “Towards inclusive development: improving data and statistics on disability” and “Mainstreaming disability in the global development agenda: experience in other development issues”, and the United Nations Enable Film Festival.

For more information click here 

Closing date for application is Friday 27th January, 2012.

For application forms please email michelle@leadershipfiji.com

Leadership Fiji is an independent, non-partisan, non-aligned entity, which depends on support drawn from the corporate, public and community sectors which was launched in 2000.

Program Objectives
Leadership Fiji fosters the development and enhancement of the quality of leaders in Fiji by:
·         Allowing members to explore their own values, philosophies, prejudices and beliefs through opportunities offered by the program.
·         Canvassing a variety of issues, which are chosen from the recommendation of those running the program as well as those who will participate in the program.
·         Giving  program members close interaction with Fiji Island leaders in fields such as business, environment, the welfare sector, unions, sports, agriculture and tourism to name a few.
·         Encouraging extended interchange throughout the year and beyond, between members of the program.
·          Ensuring discussion confidentiality by insistence on “Chatham House” rules, i.e. nothing attributable outside the room.

Program
The Leadership Fiji is a program of events and activities from March – November. These events/ activities will be designed to enable participants to discuss and debate issues among themselves and with invited speakers who demonstrate leadership skills and characteristics.

Program Content
The content focus of events and activities are issues based and include field trips, case studies, panel discussions and keynote speakers.

Events are organized around topics of national interest and may include:
·         Leadership and good governance
·         Economic concerns
·         Law & order
·         Civil societies: human rights and services
·         Education/ health & media
·         Challenges of change
·         Conflict resolution
·         Poverty & Social Welfare
·         The Sugar Cane Industry
·         The Role of the Media
·         Historical development of Fiji
·         Environment Issues
·         Alterative Economic developments

Peter Strong, Executive Director of COSBOA, stated that “at the beginning of 2011 the person in a small business had reached a low point, that person had lost his or her rights and had become invisible as a human being to policy makers and even to the human rights commission.  2011 ends with COSBOA having very close engagement with key people in government and with other key stakeholders and policy makers.  We now have engagement and we expect that in 2012 we will have results.  ”

COSBOA understands that we are facing an economic crisis that is worse than the GFC. We also understand that the way to manage this crisis is to focus on support to the small business person, to the millions of business people who will work long and hard, who will innovate and who will carry the economy through to recovery.

Mr Strong added “Big businesses are of course an integral part of an economy, but they are in the minority adn if one big business falls than thousands of jobs are lost and confidence ebbs.  The Directors and CEOs associated with big business are nearly always distant from the workforce and far from their customers so their speed of reaction is slow and their depth of understanding is limited.  The small business community can react quickly, what is impeding our speed is the increasing red tape and the increasing impact of poor competition policy and the continuing protection given to the unethical behaviour of some big businesses, particularly landlords and the big retailers.”

Mr Strong also added “2012 is the year we must have less work to do for government and more time for ourselves and our business. 2012 is the year when a small business person receives recognition as a person and the unethical big businesses change their ways or are hunted down and forced to become meaningful members of society.”

See Report Card 2011 Expectations 2012 HERE

Contact:  Peter Strong 0433 644 097

See the Telstra Business media release HERE

Note:  The big end of town is made up of the minority – big business, big business associations, big government and big unions.  The small end of town is made up of the majority – people.

Leadership FIJI is looking to fill the following position : EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Please enquire with michelle@leadershipfiji.com for the full TOR. Salary scale FJD 25,000 – FJD 35,000, dependent on academic qualification and work experience.
Application deadlines and procedure: Applicants must submit a CV with contact details for two referees and a statement of interest no later than the close of business Saturday January 7th, 2012.

The Executive Officer Vacancy
Leadership Fiji
Private Mail Bag
231 Waimanu Road
Suva
OR email: michelle@leadershipfiji.com

The National Women’s Alliances brings together women’s organisations and individuals across the nation to share information, identify issues that affect them and work with the Government to find solutions.

“These organisations are invaluable in empowering women from all walks of life to be heard, and to have a chance to influence government policies affecting them,” Ms Ellis said.

“The Australian Government is committed to achieving gender equality and is working with the National Women’s Alliance to achieve this goal in all areas of Australian society.

“Already, we have invested almost $4.6 million over three years to 2013 to the National Women’s Alliances. This includes $3.6 million in core funding, and an additional $975,000 in funding for specific projects, annual forums and training for the National Women’s Alliances.

“This additional funding will help boost their capacity to continue their great work advocating on behalf of women across Australia.”

The additional $130,000 being announced today will be spent on boosting the training and capacity building provided to the National Women’s Alliances. It will include training across all of the Women’s Alliances as well as individual support for each National Women’s Alliance.

“We know that Government alone cannot ensure gender equality. That’s why it is so important to work with individuals and grass-roots organisations to continue to have an effective means of communicating.” Ms Ellis said

“The National Women’s Alliances are made up of passionate women who act as credible, independent and effective advocates for gender equality.”

The Alliances include the Australian Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Alliance, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance, Australian Women Against Violence Alliance, National Rural Women’s Coalition and Network, Equality Rights Alliance and economic Security4Women Alliance.

“These Alliances are an essential component in the Australian Government’s efforts to engage women’s groups and bring the perspective of women to policy making,” Ms Ellis said.

“The Australian Government values the work of each of these Alliances in ensuring greater representation and recognition of the diversity of women’s voices.”

With the release of the report, Promoting Gender Equity in the Pacific, WRAP is calling on Pacific Island leaders to take urgent action to promote gender equity in the region.

The report details 14 recommendations on how to effectively address Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and to increase women’s roles in public and political decision making.

“SGBV and inequality in decision-making highlight the entrenched discrimination against women in the Pacific; discrimination which has an extensive impact on Pacific communities,” said WRAP Chairperson and Director of Family Planning International, Sumi Subramaniam.

On average, two out of every three women in the region have experienced some form of violence. SGBV is an entrenched and widespread human rights problem, while numerous barriers continue to inhibit the participation of women in decision-making at all levels in Pacific Island states.

“Gender equity is fundamental for achieving true sustainable development in the region. Until Pacific leaders step up and make addressing the high levels of SGBV and ensuring equal participation of women in decision-making, the prosperous, stable and secure Pacific they seek will remain an intangible aspiration,” said Patrick Holmes, WRAP coordinating group member and Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand’s Chief Executive Officer.

The report’s recommendations come as a result of a review of regional data, and panel discussions with regional women’s rights experts of initiatives that have been used to successfully address these issues.

WRAP hosted the panel discussions in Auckland, alongside the 42^nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting to encourage Pacific Island leaders and regional donors to do more to promote gender equity in the region.

“WRAP will continue to urge Pacific Island leaders and donors in the region to take account of the seriousness of the issues and the recommendations in this report”, said Subramaniam.

Full Report available here

WRAP or Women's Rights and Advocacy in the Pacific, is an Aotearoa New Zealand-based group made up of New Zealand affiliates of international organisations which promote and work on the rights of women in the Pacific as all or part of their remit. Members include Oxfam New Zealand, Family Planning International NZ, Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand, UNICEF and UNWOMEN NZ.

“For the courage to take on Fiji and the Pacific’s mainly patriarchal society and systems, for her determination and battle to put women’s rights on the agenda of every political leader, for the tenacity and sheer stubbornness to take the fight right into the pulse of male-dominated institutions in the military and the police force, all the time never losing her common and compassionate touch for the abused, the poor and the downtrodden, Shamima Ali is Islands Business 2011 Pacific Person of the Year,” the magazine said in its December edition which has just hit the news-stand around the Pacific.

“Twenty-six years of struggle aimed at breaking down a male-dominated and biased society and its varied systems
does seem to bring its fair share of lonely moments,” says the magazine cover article, authored by Fiji-based freelance
journalist, Samisoni Pareti.

“She has to put up with name-calling and threats of violence directed at her and her family. Invitation to weddings of family and friends had dried up as she was deemed a “bad omen” to marital alliances. So-called friends turned their backs on her. But Ali pressed on regardless.”

This latest achievement adds onto a growing series of awards Ms Ali had won due to her work on women and human rights. Last year Amnesty International New Zealand gave her its inaugural Human Rights Defender Award. She was also named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation, and in 2007 was awarded the American Government’s ‘Women of Courage’ Award. She was also named one of Fiji’s 100 most influential men and women in the book ‘20th Century Fiji.’

Ms Ali is currently Coordinator of the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre, and is also the last lawfully appointed Fiji Human Rights Commissioner. She now joins a long list of illustrious influential Pacific women, men and institutions that have graced Islands Business’ traditional December Pacific Person of the Year cover.

Others included Fiji’s founding Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, Tonga’s pro-democracy campaigner ‘Akilisi Pohiva, New Caledonian pro-independence fighter, the late Jean-Marie Tjibaou, Prime Minister John Howard of Australia and Dame Carol Kidu of Papua New
Guinea….

PACNEWS (PINA)

PAC – OCTA: PACNEWS
2011 

09 DECEMBER 2011

Despite the progress, gaps remain in many areas. Women are more likely to die—relative to males—in many low- and middle-income countries than their counterparts in rich countries,especially in childhood and during their reproductive years. Primary and secondary school enrollments for girls remain much lower than for boys in many Sub-Saharan African countries and some parts of South Asia, as well as among disadvantaged populations. Women are more likely than men to work as unpaid family laborers or in the informal sector, to farm smaller plots and grow less profitable crops, operate in smaller firms and less profi table sectors, and generally earn less. Women—especially poor women—have less say over decisions and less control over household resources. And in most countries, fewer women participate in formal politics than men and are underrepresented in the upper echelons.

The World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development argues that closing these persistent gender gaps matters. It matters because gender equality is a core development objective in its own right. But it is also smart economics. Greater gender equality can enhance productivity, improve development outcomes for the next generation, and make institutions more representative. Building on a growing body of knowledge on the economics of gender equality and development, the Report identifies the areas where gender gaps are most significant—both intrinsically and in terms of their potential development payoff—and where growth alone cannot solve the issues.

It then sets forth four priorities for public action:
*  Reducing excess female mortality and closing education gaps where they remain
*  Improving access to economic opportunities for women
*  Increasing women’s voice and agency in the household and in society
*  Limiting the reproduction of gender inequality across generations.

For the full Report:  World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development