600 from around the country are taking part
in next week’s event

Women from the Central Division are geared up for the country’s second National Women’s Expo scheduled from October 14 to 16 at the Vodafone Arena in Suva.

Of the 600 women who are taking part next week 156 are from the Central Division, 120 from the North, 130 from the West, and 194 from the East.

“The 600 women artisans are fully sponsored by the ministry in terms of their accommodation, meals and transportation,” the Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Rosy Akbar, said.

“They will have the opportunity to showcase their talents and get the best value for their products. In addition, we have also made provisions for 50 non-sponsored pot plants and food vendors to participate at the Expo. The theme for this year’s Expo is ‘Connecting Women to the Markets, Make it Happen’.

Women will also have the opportunity to acquire information and skills through the wide range of capacity building workshops that the Ministry has organised in partnership with stakeholders like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Westpac.

“These programmes will provideopportunities for women to acquire skills on leadership, financial literacy, women’s entrepreneurship and health, fashion designing and solar electrification,” she said.

The ministry is calling on the public to come forward and support the event.

“We will also commemorate the International Rural Womens Day on 15th October and in doing so the ministry has put together the Rural Women’s Fashion Show. Women will also be rewarded with attractive prizes and new opportunities will be unveiled at the official closing program on the night of Friday, 16th October 2015,” Ms Akbar said.

Representing the Wailotua Women’s Group from the Tailevu province, Biusalia Tevita, said she was ready to pack and leave for Suva.

“This will be the first time for me to showcase my talents at a national event like the Expo. This is an incentive for other women in my village to also work hard on their talents so they will be recognised at an event like the Expo,” she said.

The president of the Lakshmi Women’s Group Navua, Nutan Chand, believes the Expo event is a great platform for networking.

“We are really excited for the event, it will enable us to network with other women’s groups and learn new skills to improve our livelihood,” Mrs Chand said.

Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation

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