Canadian Women Leaders To Share South Asian Experiences at Bangladesh Women Leaders’ Conference
Posting Date: 26 Jul 04
Author(s): SAP Canada Secretariat

-AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS-

CANADIAN WOMEN LEADERS TO SHARE EXPERIENCES AT
SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN LEADERS CONFERENCE IN BANGLADESH

CANADA, July 26, 2004-Three Canadian women leaders participated in the South Asia Partnership Canada delegation to the Regional Forum on Women and Local Governance conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh on July 12-14, 2004.

The three Canadian delegates were Joan Lougheed, Kokila Jacob and Bauni Mackay.

The Canadian delegates were:
· Joan Lougheed, Burlington, Ontario (905-335-7841 ext. 7588),
· Kokila Jacob, Toronto, Ontario (416-490-6554, kokila@rogers.com), and
· Bauni Mackay, Edmonton, Alberta (780-454-7335, bauni@interbaun.com).

Ms. Lougheed is a City and Regional Councilor, Burlington and Chair of Committee for Canadian Women in Municipal Government at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).

Ms. Jacob is a journalist with international experience and a member of the EqualVoice Steering Committee.

Ms. MacKay is a retired teacher and former Board Member of the Canadian Teacher’s Federation, who is presently on the Board of YWCA Edmonton and the One Woman One Vote Committee. She was an Alberta Liberal Party candidate in the 2001 election.

The delegation participated in the governance forum to meet local groups and women politicians in Dhaka to learn about women’s empowerment initiatives in Bangladesh, while providing information on the women and governance issue in Canada. Women’s participation in local governance is an important issue in South Asia, since India instituted a 33 per cent quota for women at the local government level in 1992. Pakistan and Bangladesh instituted reforms, too.

The three-woman delegation is part of SAP Canada’s Canada-South Asia linkage program, Daughters of Democracy, which promotes connections between civil society organizations on the women and governance issue. Previously, SAP Canada sponsored two South Asian women leaders’ visits to Canada so they could share their experiences with Canadians. The Canadian delegation brings Canadians to South Asia so they can share their experience and form links with South Asian women leaders.

For more information about SAP Canada, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, One Woman One Vote and Equal Voice, visit their web sites:

http://www.onewomanonevote.org
http://www.fcm.ca
http://www.equalvoice.ca
http://www.sapcanada.org

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Attached file: dhaka advisory.doc