Indonesia's PKK gets UNESCO award<\/p>\n
By Santi WE Soekanto<\/p>\n
BEIJING (JP): Indonesia's grassroots movement for the welfare
\nof families, known by its local acronym PKK, was internationally
\nrecognized yesterday for its leading role in a global campaign
\nagainst illiteracy.<\/p>\n
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
\nOrganization (UNESCO) granted to the PKK (Pembinaan Kesejahteraan
\nKeluarga, or Family Welfare Movement) the Noma Prize in a
\nceremony marking International Literacy Day. The ceremony was
\nheld on the sidelines of the ongoing Fourth World Conference on
\nWomen.<\/p>\n
The movement's chairwoman, Mrs. Yogie S. Memet, who is the
\nwife of the Minister of Home Affairs, accepted the award from
\nUNESCO Director General Federico Mayor.<\/p>\n
The prize, named after the late Japanese literary figure
\nShoichi Noma, was given to Indonesia for \"having created a
\nnational movement conducted by the wives of civil servants and
\ndedicated to the education and social welfare of women.\"<\/p>\n
The organization won the award for \"having emphasized the
\nfundamental importance of educating women and girls as a means of
\ncontributing to long-term family welfare in a rapidly changing
\nworld,\" according to a UNESCO statement.<\/p>\n
PKK, it said, has demonstrated \"the effectiveness of combining
\nliteracy and post-literacy activities with income generating
\nactivities as a means of encouraging learning, alleviating
\npoverty and promoting family welfare\".<\/p>\n
UNESCO yesterday also organized a discussion on the education
\nof women and girls featuring a number of experts and well-known
\nfigures, including the agency's Goodwill Ambassador actress Jane
\nFonda. Indonesia's expert Sjamsiah Achmad and Egyptian First Lady
\nSuzanne Mubarak were also speakers at the event.<\/p>\n
In his address to the seminar, Mayor talked about \"women's
\nempowerment and women in power\" and pointed out how the two terms
\nare inseparable from the question of access to education.<\/p>\n
\"We must empower women to enable them to exercise power ..We
\nmust empower women because today some two-thirds of the 900
\nmillion illiterates between 15 and 60 years of age are women.\"<\/p>\n
He pointed out that over 60 percent of the 130 million out-of-
\nschool children are girls. \"Women and girls constitute a large
\nmajority of the world's educationally excluded and un-reached.\"<\/p>\n
\"Education is empowerment, is liberation, is giving everybody
\nthe capacity to decide for themselves,\" he said. \"Equality of
\nopportunity and the reduction of female poverty will only be
\nachieved when women are able to play their full part in the
\ndevelopment process, which includes helping to shape it.\"<\/p>\n
Ensuring equal access to all forms of learning opportunities
\nis crucial for women's empowerment and access to decision making.
\nHe said 70 percent of those living in absolute poverty, which
\namounts to some 1.3 billion worldwide, are women.<\/p>\n
However, only six percent of government ministers are women,
\nand less than 10 percent of all parliamentarians are women, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The conference proper yesterday was still filled with speeches
\nby leaders from participating countries, including the first
\nladies of Burundi, Nigeria, Bolivia, and number of
\nrepresentatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs).<\/p>\n
Patricia B. Licuanan of the Philippines, who chairs the Main
\nCommittee in charge of deliberating the conference's Draft
\nPlatform for Action and the Beijing Declaration, reported further
\nprogress in the committee's activities.<\/p>\n
Two working groups, in charge of different sections in the
\ndocuments, have been able to \"clear about half of the total
\nbrackets in the statements on human rights and armed conflicts\"
\nin the draft.<\/p>\n
\"Much progress is being made,\" she said optimistically,
\npointing out that although the working groups, and the contact
\ngroups established to facilitate negotiations, will have to work
\nlate this weekend, the committee will be able to convene again on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
\"If I'm lucky, the meeting of the committee on Monday will be
\ndull, because it will consist mainly of participating countries
\nexpressing approvals\" of the various points in the draft, which
\nwill be the world's guidelines for the advancement of women.<\/p>\n
She admitted that debates were still occurring over issues
\nwhich were known to be polarizing, such as a woman's right to her
\nreproductive health, which involves the issues of abortion and
\nbirth control.<\/p>\n
Anti-polio -- Page 2<\/p>\n
Abuse -- Page 12<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesias-pkk-gets-unesco-award-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }