UN Women @ SIDS Conference

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The Third UN Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) – taking place from 1-4 September 2014 in Apia, Samoa – will focus attention on a group of countries that face multiple sustainable development challenges, due to their unique vulnerabilities.

Every day, women take decisions that impact sustainable development—be it the use of water, or energy, or forests. They can become drivers of sustainable development, if they have equal access to resources and opportunities and are part of the decision-making processes.

At the Conference, as part of her first visit to the Pacific region, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka will call on governments to accelerate their implementation of programmes and policies to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment and bring real change on the ground.

News and speeches

UN Women Executive Director to make first official visit to Australia and the Pacific

Interviews

“Island States are not homogeneous”

Adelsia de Jesus Almeida Duarte is a Professor for gender and local development at the Cape Verdean Institute for Social and Legal Sciences in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde. Photo:UN Women/Annina Gonzenbach

Adelsia de Jesus Almeida Duarte is a Professor for gender and local development from Cape Verde. She speaks to UN Women about the specific challenges her country faces and what she expects from the upcoming SIDS conference.

Read her interview »


“We need to reposition the world’s attention to the challenges of SIDS States”

Anande Trotman, Grenada  Photo: Hugh Whyte

Anande Trotman Joseph is a lawyer and gender equality advocate from Grenada. She speaks to UN Women about the challenges many Caribbean States face for sustainable and gender-responsive development.

Read her interview »


“It’s important for youth to be involved at the high level”

Tahere Si’isi’ialafia’s is a 24-year-old Samoan youth delegate to the SIDS Conference

Tahere Si’isi’ialafia’s, a 24-year-old Baha’i youth from Samoa and board member of the Pacific Youth Council. She speaks to UN Women about the importance of involving youth in high-level fora like the SIDS Conference.

Read her interview »


Feature stories

Pacific market vendor training

Markets set to improve, with Pacific women in the lead

UN Women is working with women market vendors in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to improve their working conditions, earning power and leadership skills. Read more »


Photo courtesy of The Competitiveness Company at Guy’s Hill in Jamaica

Caribbean women protect their crops through green technologies

Through workshops, women farmers in Barbados, Grenada and Jamaica are learning more sustainable farming techniques and securing their livelihoods. Read more »


Rosalina Moniz in her self-help group’s garden, one of the few places in the region for certain varieties of vegetables. Photo: UN Women/Aisling Walsh

Sowing seeds, reaping income and independence in Timor-Leste

Through self-help groups, grants and gardens, widows, single moms and survivors of violence are gaining economic clout in rural Timor-Leste. Read more »


Street dwellers march for an end to violence against women as part of the Hibiscus Festival parade, August 2013. Photo: Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International

In Fiji, communities mobilize ground-up to end violence against women and girls

Street workers and the homeless are raising awareness to halt violence against women in public spaces, while more than 700 students and teachers are educating to transform attitudes in 63 schools. Read more »


Environment

In Focus: Women and the environment

As part of UN Women's Beijing+20 campaign, we focus on this critical area of concern of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and how women can and do make a difference in climate change and environmental decisions. Read more »


Join the conversation

Join the conversation on social media by following the hashtags #islands2014 and #sids2014 on Twitter, and UN Women Pacific on Facebook: https://facebook.com/unwomenpacific.

Video
Featured video
Partnerships with Caribbean Women Towards Food Security and Sustainable Livelihoods

Women in The Bahamas, Dominica and Jamaica are strongly engaged in key sectors as farmers, food producers and as local artisans selling traditional and eco-friendly products. UN Women is working to enhance women farmers’ and artisans’ direct access to the marketplace, to increase their access to emerging technologies, knowledge and skills, and to strengthen women’s voice and leadership.

Planet 50–50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality