INCLUSIVE SOCIETY
said, adding that the ministry was upholding the interests of children through strengthening protection against violence, abandonment, and neglect.
“The elderly will not be forgotten. We aim to improve their living by providing a supportive environment, promote active ageing and empower disabled individuals by having more training and entrepreneurship skills to increase their employability,” she said.
Maldives Gender and Family Minister Zenysha Shaheed Zaki shared her experience during the forum.
“We are excited to learn from best practices of other countries and I believe that this is a great platform for new dialogues and to improve our existing knowledge on certain areas.
Zenysha spoke on Maldives’ national campaign, launched last year which focuses on senior citizens.
“The campaign was successful and we managed to carry out activities focused on active ageing for senior citizens.
“We don’t want them to feel that they are isolated from their community. Sessions, which included youth, were organised to ensure that they could communicate with senior citizens and erase any wrong perceptions that they were not included in the decisions that would affect them.
“There were special sessions for health workers and social workers who work with senior citizens at the grassroots level to prepare (them) for retirement and active ageing.”
Solomon Island Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs Minister Jimson Tanangada shared his experience regarding gender equality.
“Previously in my society, women were usually perceived as housewives. But we’ve empowered them by eliminating (elements which are) discriminatory against women. They now have equal access to resources and participate equally in the workforce,” he said.
The event which began on March 14 ends today. MOST is a programme under Unesco’s Commission of Social Sciences which aims to design, coordinate and implement its programmes and activities related to social sciences, inclusivity and gender equality.
Malaysia has been appointed as Unesco executive board member for the duration 2015 to 2019 through the Education Ministry. MOST was launched to strengthen the dissemination of knowledge to member states by encouraging evidence-informed approaches through sustained dialogues between researchers and policymakers.