【CSW66 FORUM PARALLEL EVENT】"CLIMATE CHANGE AND WOMEN-WHAT WOMEN CAN DO"
The 66th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) took place from March 14 to 25, 2022 in hybrid form (online and in-person). The CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. The theme of this year’s commission was “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programs.”
NGO CSW66 Virtual Parallel Event under the theme of “Climate Change and Women-What Women Can Do” was held by WFWP Japan on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. WFWP Japan was able to organize a Parallel Event for CSW for the first time in our history.
In line with the theme of climate change, WFWP Haiti and WFWP Japan reported on our support activities for victims of big natural disasters in order to emphasize what WFWP has done in Japan and Haiti, where they are suffering from natural disasters every year.
The report by Mrs. Fujiko Paul, President of WFWP Haiti was very shocking. The fact that women were raped in tent shelters every time a disaster occurred and PKO soldiers left children in Haiti raised the gender issues behind the disasters. In the area affected by the great earthquake last year, in order to overcome such problems, we are currently working on activities to construct shelters to prevent women from being raped with the support of WFWP Korea and WFWP Japan.
On behalf of all members of WFWP Japan who have been involved in support activities for victims of natural disasters, Chair of Tokyo District Federation of WFWP Japan, reported on the efforts of the “Care Package of Love Movement” throughout Japan. Hiroshima chapter started this activity at the time of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The members of Hiroshima chapter learned that women living in temporary housing are asking for human ties as well as supplies, so they have visited each woman who live in temporary housing and delivered “Care Packages of Love” which are filled with daily necessities for more than 10 years. It was well understood that women can do many things by demonstrating the power of healing and the power of networks
The main speaker was Professor Akiko Yamanaka, Special Ambassador of the World Tsunami Awareness Day of Japan, President of the International Tsunami Disaster Prevention Society, and Senior Diplomatic Fellow of Cambridge University. Professor Yamanaka is an expert of disaster prevention and shared the disaster prevention know-how accumulated in Japan under the theme of “Social Resilience from Humans to Infrastructure: Lessons Learned from Japan”. She introduced Japan’s excellent technologies such as Multipurpose Seawalls, Smart City, and Floating Vehicles and taught the importance of preparation for disasters.
The next day of this event, a magnitude 6 earthquake struck Fukushima again, and eastern Japan suffered unexpected damage such as large tremors, power outages, and derailment of the Shinkansen bullet train. The disaster came when we forgot, so we realized how important it is to prepare for disasters.