2003 International Women's Day Forum (Tokyo, 6 March 2003) - ILO Office in Japan

Departments and Offices

2003 International Women's Day "Women's Empowerment: The Key to Achieving the Millennium Development Goals"
Jointly Organized by: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme International Environmental Technology Centre (UNEP IETC), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United Nations University (UNU), United Nations Volunteers (UNV), World Bank (WB), World Food Programme (WFP)
International Women's day has been celebrated since the beginning of the 20th century by many organizations on 8 March. Since 1975-the United Nations (UN) International Women's Year- the UN has observed this day as an occasion to promote further the empowerment of women as equal members of society. The UN Agencies located in Japan will jointly organize for the second time a public forum to commemorate this event at the UN House, Tokyo, on 6 March. The forum will focus on "Women's Empowerment: The Key to Achieving the Millennium Development Goals", which is the theme chosen by the United Nations for International Women's Day this year. Experts from academia, the non-profit sector and a parliamentarian will present their insight and views on the realities and opportunities of women today with a particular focus on their role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's). Admission is free. Simultaneous Japanese-English interpretation will be available
D A T E
6 March 2003, 14:00-17:30 (Registration 13:30-14:00)
P L A C E
U Thant International Conference Hall, UN House (5-53-70 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8925; about 10 minutes walk from Shibuya or Omotesando stations)
P R O G R A M M E
14:00 - 14:10	Message from Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations read by Hans van Ginkel, Rector, United Nations University
14:10 - 14:50	Keynote speech: "Women's Empowerment" Ryoko Akamatsu, Professor, Bunkyo Gakuin University Graduate School; former Minister of Education of Japan
14:50 - 15:50	Open panel discussion: Panelists: * Chieko Nono, Member, House of Councillors; President of the Parliamentary Association for Women and Development * Katsuhide Kitatani, Chairperson, NPO 2050 * Fatima Sherif-Nor, JICA-UNHCR Senior Liaison Officer
15:50 - 16:30	Questions & Answers
16:30 - 17:30	Coffee time & information market All participants are invited for coffee and to visit the displays organized on the 2nd floor of UN House, where UN agencies will inform about their gender-related activities.
A P P L I C A T I O N
All interested members of the public are cordially invited to attend the forum. For registration, please send your name, title/affiliation, address, Tel/Fax nos. and Email to the Forum secretariat by fax (03-3499-2828) or Email (womensday.2003@hq.unu.edu) by March 3rd. Once you send this form, you are automatically registered for the conference. Unfortunately, we cannot provide parking space. For enquiries please contact Ms. Hattori, Tel (03)-5467-2701.

Updated by EU. Approved by MH. Last update: 8 January 2004