Pacific Regional Convenings

In Person Convenings

Pacific Convening Event — Fiji

Dates: 11 – 12 May

On 8 February the Minister for Foreign Affairs in Australia announced that Australia will be developing a new international gender equality strategy. The new strategy will place gender equality at the center of Australia’s diplomatic, development, economic, trade, humanitarian and security efforts.

The new strategy will connect Australia’s international priorities on gender equality with those in the region and will be developed with inclusive consultations across governments, civil society and other stakeholders.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has expressed its commitment to advancing gender equality and the rights of women and girls at home and in the region and is proposing to host consultations on what constitutes government policies and strategies that effectively advance gender equality internationally, during the two-day Women Deliver event in Fiji.

The Women Deliver Pacific Convening event was held on 11 and 12 May at the Pearl South Pacific, Pacific Harbour, Fiji.

This inaugural event brought together gender equality advocates and activists from across the Pacific region to engage in critical conversations about gender equality priorities and how to amplify them at the Oceanic Pacific Convening on 6-7 June in Melbourne, Australia, and in the global Women Deliver 2023 Conference on 17-20 July, in Kigali Rwanda.

The program featured a range of engaging activities, including panel discussions, workshops, and networking sessions.

Advocates and activists exchanged ideas and perspectives and coordinated collective action to address the pressing issues faced by girls and women in the region. Efforts were made to ensure diverse representation, including voices from marginalized communities, to foster an inclusive and meaningful dialogue.

The topic five priorities identified through the Pacific Convening include:

• Climate Justice
• Decolonization
• Ending gender-based violence and violence against women and girls in all their diversity
• Women’s economic equity and safe, sustainable livelihoods
• Resourcing for women’s human rights

An outcomes statement will be prepared and finalized over the next few weeks.

Background:

• The planning of the Pacific Convening Event was guided by the Oceanic Pacific Regional Committee, which brings together grassroots advocates, women’s rights organizations and sector partners from across the Region and represents the diversity of the region. The Regional Committee identified key gender equality actors in the Pacific to attend, with the majority of attendees having participated in the Pacific Feminist Forum held immediately before the event (8-10 May).
• In preparation for Women Deliver 2023, the Pacific and Melbourne convening events provide an opportunity for regional gender equality priorities to be identified, and to build momentum towards and prepare to represent those priorities on the global stage in Kigali.

Oceanic Pacific Regional Convening Event — Melbourne, Australia

Dates: 6 – 7 June

This event is a fee-free event hosted by the Victorian Government in partnership with the Commonwealth Government and the Oceanic Pacific Regional Committee. With over 300 attendees, it is a unique opportunity to champion and elevate the voices of women and girls across the Oceanic Pacific region in all their diversity. Key priorities from this event will then be taken to the global Women Deliver 2023 Conference in Kigali, Rwanda in July 2023 and shared with gender equality advocates and decision-makers across the world.

The Women Deliver conference is one of the largest gender equality conferences in the world, bringing together global stakeholders and leaders from multiple sectors and industries. Women Deliver 2023 is being held in Kigali, Rwanda, from 17-20 July 2023 with an expected in-person attendance of more than 6,000 and a further 200,000+ people attending online. Leading up to the Women Deliver 2023 Conference, the Melbourne event is the second of two regional convenings being held in our region. The first event was held in Fiji on 11 and 12 May 2023.

Find out more about the regional convening at Women Deliver 2023 | Victorian Government.

 

Event details:

Day 1: 6 June

• Full Day event 8.30am – 5pm; Networking function 5pm – 7pm
• Melbourne Convention Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Day 2: 7 June

• Targeted workshop and activities 9am – 3pm
• Venue TBC, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Steering Committee

The Victorian Government, in partnership with the Commonwealth Government of Australia, is Chair of the Pacific Regional Convening Committee for Women Deliver 2023.

The Victorian Government, under the leadership of the Honorable Natalie Hutchins MP, Minister for Women, has brought together grassroots advocates, women’s rights organizations and sector partners from across the Pacific to advocate and deliberate on Gender Equality discourse.

Supported by the Steering Committee Members whose mandate is to guide the planning, delivery and promotion of the Oceanic Pacific Regional Convening during the Global Dialogue and at Women Deliver 2023.

More details about the Oceanic Pacific Regional can be found here: Women Deliver 2023 | Victorian Government

Would you like to get in touch with Oceanic Pacific Regional regarding planned activities or potential collaboration? Kindly write to: womendeliver@dffh.vic.gov.au