By: Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Minister Of State For Community Development, Youth And Sports
9.00 am at Regional & English Language Centre (RELC)
Good morning
Ms Suzy Chia, President of the Federation of Asia-Pacific Women's Association (FAWA)
Ms Mei Woo, President, Singapore Women's Association and Organising Chair of FAWA
Delegates
Speakers
Distinguished guests
Opening
My warmest greetings to all our friends, and welcome to Singapore.
SINGPORE WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION
The Singapore Women's Association (SWA) is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation. It started off as a Girls' Club in 1954 and became a women's club four years later. Among other things, SWA aims to provide opportunities for women to help one another socially, educationally and culturally.
In 1982, SWA, in her capacity as one of the founder members of FAWA, hosted the FAWA Interim Conference ''Towards Better Quality of Life''. The Conference was well attended by nearly 200 women leaders from 11 ASEAN countries. Then, in 1986, SWA hosted the 11th FAWA Convention ''Challenges Facing Asian Women in the next Decade''.
This Convention marks a new milestone for SWA. My sincerest congratulations to SWA and the convention organizing committee for successfully bringing delegates from the various countries together for a common cause - the empowerment of women.
FEDERATION OF ASIA-PACIFIC WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION
We would not be here today if not for the efforts of the late Geronima T. Pecson, one of the noted figures of the National Federation of Women's Clubs of the Philippines.
FAWA was first conceived in 1952, and aims to effect major changes in the status of women by creating opportunities for women to get together and discuss problems that affect Asian countries and communities, and try to find solutions to the problems.
This year marks the 17th FAWA Convention with the focus on ''Women and the Environment: Mentors and Trustees for Future Generations''. This 5-day convention will provide participants with the opportunity for in-depth discussions on ways to empower women so that they can perform their role effectively in education, public health, business, entrepreneurship and participation in sustainable development. It is also a good platform for the sharing of information and knowledge between participating countries. We come from different background and bring with us different experiences. Thus, we have a lot to learn from each other.
WOMEN AND THE ENVIRONMENT
In some countries, women are still actively involved in fishing and farming for their families. This is in addition to them being responsible for domestic tasks like cooking and gathering wood for fuel, among others. For these communities, women play an important role in ensuring the well being of their families. Water scarcity, deforestation, exposure to agricultural chemicals and other forms of pollution would impact women's nutrition and health, and that of their families too.
For example, water shortage can reduce harvest yields, deforestation increases the time women spend seeking fuel wood, and toxic chemicals and pesticides in air, water and earth can lead to a variety of health risks among women. The deterioration of natural resources affects the community's income-generating activities. This would in turn affect the quality of life of women and the population at large.
Efforts to facilitate and increase the population's access to information, education and training in science and technology, need to be developed and strengthened. Both men and women need to know the impact of environment on them and likewise, how they too can impact the environment.
Public education is one means to increase women's awareness on environmental issues. The challenge however, lies in reaching out to rural and underprivileged women. You will have the chance during this convention to discuss and share views on this issue, as well as many other challenging issues that women of today face.
CONCLUSION
I wish you all the best in this convention. May you bring home new knowledge and experiences that can be adapted and applied to your respective countries. More importantly, may you develop a strong network with each other as this will ensure continuous sharing of information and experience after the convention.
Thank you.