19th May, 2016 The Women’s Affairs Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is coordinating a 1 day workshop on Thursday, 19 May with the women candidates who will stand in the upcoming District and Town Officer elections.
The workshop is a follow-up meeting with the candidates who were part of the International Women’s Day workshop that took place in March. The aim of tomorrow’s workshop is to meet again with the women together as a group and recap on their experience so far for the local elections. It is also aimed assist these women by providing them with more information that could be of use in their campaign approach to their various communities. The workshop comes at a crucial time, only weeks before June when the elections will be held. It is also an opportunity to discuss issues and solutions relating to family values, as last Sunday was the International Day of Families that the Division marked with a prayer service at Houma Wesleyan Church.
The workshop will discuss with the women the Family Protection Act and how it can be used effectively in each of their communities. There will also be sessions dedicated to discussing family issues within communities and the best approach these women can take, as leaders of their communities. The workshop is intending to have 30 women participate. In the coming weeks, the Division together with the International Women’s Day National Planning Committee (IWDNPC) is also planning to conduct a follow-up workshop in Vava’u. This is the result of the first round of workshops to the outer islands that were conducted last month to which more than 10 women from Vava’u have confirmed their candidacy to the Women’s Division office.
The follow-up workshop is part of the work done by the Women’s Affairs Division to encourage more women into political leadership at both national and local levels from 2014 – 2018. The workshop will be held at 9:00am Tofoa, Tonga Culture Centre Conference Building opposite Vaiola Hospital.
ENDS
Issued from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, P.O Box 2395, Nuku’alofa, Kingdom of Tonga Telephone: (+676) 27145 / 24299 Fax: (+676) 27099