R4D celebrates Women’s Entrepreneurship Day 2017

Four awards were presented during the commemoration of the Women's Entrepreneurship Day 2017 in Timor-Leste for local contractors who have shown leadership in promoting women's socio-economic empowerment in the rural roads programme in Timor-Leste.

News | Dili, Timor-Leste | 20 November 2017
The R4D Chief Technical Advisor, Mr Augustus Asare, presents a trophy and certificate to Mr Jorge da Silva. His company has shown best practice for advancing social safeguards in R4D.
Roads for Development Programme (R4D) is the Government of Timor-Leste’s leading rural roads programme implemented by the Ministry of Development and Institutional Reform for Public Works (MDIRPW), formerly known as Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications, with financial support from the Government of Australia and technical support from the International Labour Organization (ILO).

This year, R4D joined the global community in marking the 2017 Women’s Entrepreneurship Day through a Gala Dinner on 19 November, to celebrate, empower and support women. 

The celebrations were organised in partnership with the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organisation (WEDO) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Timor-Leste (CCI-TL) amongst other key stakeholders.

Increasing the involvement of women in the private sector not only makes good business sense, but will also have broader benefits for Timor-Leste’s economic development. All of Australia’s development assistance investments embed gender considerations and many have a strong focus on women."

Paul Regnault, from the Australian Embassy in Timor-Leste
Special guests of honour in attendance included the Minister for Justice, Minister for Tourism Industry and Commerce, the Vice Minister for MDIRPW, the Secretary of State for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, and a representative of the Australian Embassy in Timor-Leste.

During the celebrations, R4D presented awards to recognize and motivate contractors who have shown leadership in promoting women’s socio-economic empowerment in the programme.

Four awards were presented against the following categories:
  • Category 1: Best practice in promoting socio-economic empowerment of women in R4D
  • Category 2: Best practice in promoting socio-economic empowerment of People Living with Disabilities (PLWD) in R4D
  • Category 3: Best practice in social inclusion in R4D – individual prize
  • Category 4: Best practice in advancing social safeguards in R4D
During the presentation of awards Mr Paul Regnault, from the Australian Embassy in Timor-Leste said,"“Increasing the involvement of women in the private sector not only makes good business sense, but will also have broader benefits for Timor-Leste’s economic development. All of Australia’s development assistance investments embed gender considerations and many have a strong focus on women’s economic empowerment."

The awards underscored the Government of Timor-Leste’s strong commitment to reinforce gender equality and promote socio-economic empowerment of women to achieve an inclusive and fair society. R4D has in turn been strengthening the capacity of the government to support women’s equal engagement in the labour force.

This socio-economic empowerment of women is essential for building stronger economies and improving the quality of life for all. R4D will continue to recognize, motivate and inspire
leadership in the implementation of gender sensitive labour based practices in rural road programmes that promote and empower women.