MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Downer
On International Women's Day I am pleased to acknowledge the success of an
Australian Government funded aid project in Bougainville. The Leitana Nehan
Women's Development Agency (LNWDA) has been awarded the International Millennium
Peace Prize for Women by the United Nations Development Fund for Women.
The prize recognizes LNWDA's outstanding achievements in resolving and
preventing conflicts and building peace after many years of civil war on the
island of Bougainville. Helen Hakena, the Executive Director of LNWDA, will
accept the award in New York today. The award was judged by international
dignitaries such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos Horta, New Zealand Prime
Minister Helen Clark and Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker.
I commend the women at LNWDA for their tireless efforts in running a range of
programs for promoting peace, including homebrew and violence awareness
workshops, human development workshops and counselling and legal advice for
women and children.
I also congratulate the Australian non-government organization, the
International Women's Development Agency, for the important role it has played
in providing technical assistance and training workshops to LNWDA staff and
volunteers.
With the Women and Peace theme of today's International Women's Day it
is timely to note the important role women across the whole Asia-Pacific region
play in resolving and preventing conflicts and building peace.
The Australian Government supports a number of peace-building initiatives led
by women in our local region. Australia's overseas aid program is contributing
to peace by helping both women and men participate in peace processes underway
in Bougainville and Solomon Islands.
For instance, in the Solomon Islands, Australia funded a conference organised
by the Department of Women, Youth and Sport where women could discuss their
concerns about the impact of conflict. Women were particularly concerned at how
the conflict negatively impacts on children and vulnerable groups, reduces
women's access to education and health services and restricts women's freedom of
movement.
Australian support for the efforts of women to build peace efforts has an
important role in enhancing stability and security in our local region.
Media contacts:
Matt Francis (Ministerial) 02 6277 7500 / 0419 206 890
Fionna Douglas (AusAID) 02 6206 4960 / 0412 804 489
For an interview with Bougainville's Helen Hakena in New York, call Fionna
Douglas