17 Oct Advancing Gender Equality: A Regional Workshop for YSEALI

In partnership with U.S Embassy in Bandar Seri Begawan, Wedu implements the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Generation Workshop: Advancing Gender Equality from 7-11 October 2019. Bringing together 50 emerging leaders from all the eleven YSEALI member countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor Leste), the workshop aims to be an avenue for participants to find collaborative solutions to closing the gender gap as well as nurture a Southeast Asia community with regional and cross-border cooperation.

The program consists of three phases, starting with pre-workshop virtual learning and webinars from July to September 2019, a three-day workshop in Brunei Darussalam in October 2019, and post-workshop activities from October to December 2019. During the workshop, participants are exposed with informational sessions and skills training with experts specialising in specific topics related to the issue of gender equality in the region. Moreover, participants are invited to develop innovative solutions to specific gender equality issues and presented their project ideas in front of a panel of judges to win a small grant funding to implement their project. Five projects are selected to receive this small grant funding, and the impact of the workshop will be extended to more community through the projects that participants will implement after the workshop.

The creation of an all-inclusive network, engaging both women and men, is important toward obtaining gender equality and women’s empowerment. Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. Women’s empowerment is a critical aspect of achieving gender equality, and youth have a key role to play as drivers of change in adopting innovative approach to unconscious biases, women’s empowerment, and gender mainstreaming in public and private sector. The workshop helps create a network of young Southeast Asian leaders who work across national borders to
promote the advancement of women in society and solidified partnership between both men and women to narrow the gender gap together.

For updates from the workshop and the project winners, please follow #YSEALIequality on Wedu and YSEALI social media.