NorMin Gender Advocates kick off 2012 Women’s Month

By Elaine O. Ratunil

Thursday 1st of March 2012

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, March 1 (PIA) – The Gender Advocates (GA) in Northern Mindanao is set to kick off 2012 Women’s Month celebration tomorrow, March 2.
The celebration will commence with a holy mass and a program to be held at the provincial capitol grounds.

Clarissa Calingin-Rosales, president of GA-10, said the theme for the 2012 National Women’s Month Celebration, “Women Weathering Climate Change: Governance and Accountability, Everyone’s Responsibility,” is in consideration of the recent disasters and calamities experienced by the country and the impact of climate change observed and experienced globally.

Further, this year’s celebration highlights disaster risk reduction (DRR) as everyone’s responsibility.

Hence, Calingin-Rosales said the observance underscores the role of women as powerful agents of change in relation to DRR. Women’s indigenous knowledge on climate change and disaster, because of their responsibilities and experiences, should be utilized in DRR and climate change adaptation strategies.

This year’s celebration, likewise, is in consonance with the continuing national and local efforts to advocate for the implementation of the Magna Carta of Women and the Millennium Development Goals, which started in last year’s women’s month celebration. For this year, the focus is on MDG7 on ensuring environmental sustainability.

Meanwhile, GA is set to hold gift-giving to female inmates at Lumbia, this city, on March 8 and to conduct seminar on mental health and psychosocial dynamics on March 15 and 16.

By June 8, GA, in cooperation with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Agrarian Reform, will spearhead an intensive tree growing, wherein a follow-up will be done on Nov. 9, in time for GA’s anniversary. (EOR-PIA 10)