10th June 2016 The Climate Change Negotiation Workshop for Pacific Islands Women was officially launched in Suva on Monday 6th of June, by Ms. Andie Fong Toy, the Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.
The workshop is a joint effort of the Australian National University Asia Pacific School of Diplomacy, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFs) supported by the Australian Federal Government with the aim to develop Pacific women’s skills in negotiation, communication and leadership with a particular focus on climate change.
In Ms Fong Toy’s opening remarks, she emphasized that “Climate change and gender equality are both key priorities for the (Pacific) region with Pacific Islands’ Forum Leaders at their last meeting in Port Moresby, re-affirming climate change as one of their top regional public policy priorities under the Framework for Pacific Regionalism”.
Participants from 9 island nations took part in the workshop, including Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu. The workshop facilitated discussions on
- how small island states can utilise the United Nations system,
- the science of climate change,
- pacific gender social issues and
- the principles of effective negotiation.
The workshop concluded on Thursday 9th with participants undertaking an international negotiation simulation in preparation for COP22 in Morocco.
Tonga was represented by Ms. Ofa Kaisamy and Ms. Lilu Moala, both from MEIDECC, Department of Climate Change.
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Issued by the: Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications