By Samantha Semoso – EMTV Online
“Women Leaders and Political Participation Regional Conference” was the theme of a conference held in Honiara, Solomon Islands from the 2-4 June, 2015.
The event was sponsored by the United Nations Development Program, the European Union and the Solomon Islands Government.
Present at the conference were UNDP, EU representatives and Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, Mr Mannaseh Sogavare.
Women leaders and panellists at the conference included a Member of Parliament in the Fijian Government, Honourable Salote Radrodro, Deputy Attorney General from Samoa, Loretta Tueli and former Deputy Speaker in the first Autonomous Bougainville Government and newly elected member for North Bougainville Women’s seat Ms Francesca Semoso.
The women all came together to share their experiences and ideas regarding the Temporary Special Measures (TSM) or reserve seats for women and how challenging it has been working in a male dominated house of representatives.
The aim of the conference was to help women of the Solomon Islands get into parliament and help their government understand that women can make a difference if involved in politics at the highest level.
