International Women’s Day (IWD) Forum on, “Innovate for Change” held on Thursday, March 15, 2019 at Jojein Hotel & Resort, Oba-Ile, Akure, Ondo State.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a day set aside globally to commemorate the achievements made by women in several fields of endeavor including social, cultural, political, economic, governance and entrepreneurship.
Over the years, activities are organized to: celebrate achievements made by women, advocate for more opportunities for women, and eliminate barriers that hinder women from making progress, overcome all forms of deprivation and advance the common good of women across the world.
PIND joined the world to commemorate IWD for the first time in 2015. Since then, commemorating IWD has become a constant annual activity for the Foundation with PIND and its collaborating partners deciding on unique themes derived from the national theme.
While the Global Campaign theme was Balance for Better, The UN Women International theme which is also the national theme for IWD 2019 was “Think Equal, Build Smart, and Innovate for Change.” Organizations were advised to focus on actions that will promote innovative ways to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women, particularly in the areas of technology, social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure.
Developing and influencing gender-responsive innovations according to the UN Women, will accelerate transformative gains for women in the society. From this national theme, PIND chose as its theme: “Innovate for Change” and together with partners, Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), Green Shield Integrated Services Limited (GIS) and Life & Peace Development Organization (LAPDO), PIND and its partners held a forum on the theme focussing on two Fish Smoking technologies it has been promoting – Chorkor Oven (CO) and Smoking Kiln (SK).
Objectives of the forum of 182 participants (160 women, 22 men) which included senior government functionaries, government agencies, financial institutions, private sector representatives, business membership associations including those of women living in riverine communities, business service providers, civil society organizations and media were to:
- Increase awareness of Fish Processing technologies (Chorkor Oven and Smoking Kiln) as appropriate technologies for women in the Aquaculture Value Chain;
- Facilitate change in the mindset of women in the adoption of improved technology for smoking as against the use of drums;
- Facilitate linkages and networking among women farmers and relevant actors/stakeholders, including financial institutions; and
- Increase consciousness on peaceable means of adopting modern technologies.
https://pindfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PIND-IWD-2019-Report_Vol3_20190404.pdf
