International Women’s Day Message 2021

International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. In her statement for International Women’s Day, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said “We need women’s representation that reflects all women and girls in all their diversity and abilities, and across all cultural, social, economic and political situations. This is the only way we will get real societal change that incorporates women in decision-making as equals and benefits us all.”  I couldn’t have said it better myself. 

PPSEAWA Taiwan has carried out a wide range of programs aimed at promoting education for youth, empowerment for women and children, and gender equality.  We have been a proud sponsor of “The Ten Outstanding Young Women Award” since 2017.  This biennial award honors ten incredible young women on International Women’s Day. These individuals exemplify extraordinary accomplishments in personal development, business and entrepreneurship, community action and international cooperation.  

Youth participation has been an important focus for PPSEAWA Taiwan. In February 2021, we co-organized the Gender Impact Accelerator, a gender lens social enterprise accelerator, supporting young social innovators with a series of training and mentoring sessions.  We hope to build a social innovation network for gender equality in the Asia Pacific region and nurture talented youth to tackle gender issues in the next three years.  PPSEAWA Taiwan also encourages and supports our young members thru gatherings and information meetings. We are proud of our youth members who were awarded the PPSEAWA International’s Young Women’s Fund and will continue to support their projects. 

PPSEAWA Taiwan has also been participating in the UN CSW since 2011.  This year, our virtual CSW65 parallel event “The role of NPOs/NGOs in the formation of public policies” will be on March 16th, from 9am to 10:30am (Taipei time), with speakers from Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the United States.  We hope all our PPSEAWA sisters will be able to join us. 

Lastly, I wish all PPSEAWA sisters a happy International Women’s Day! Let’s forge ahead with our missions, celebrate women’s achievements, challenge gender inequality, and help create a peaceful inclusive world.

Mandy Chen, President of PPSEAWA Taiwan