Women in Export Trade
Arequipa, Peru
Sunday, 11 May, 2008

Women with experience in export trade from the 21 Asia Pacific economies will take part in the event which will be held immediately before the 13th Women Leaders’ Network (WLN). WOMEN IN EXPORT TRADE is organized by the Ministry of Women and Social Development (MIMDES) in coordination with the academic, business and private sectors. Its aim is to give information about exporting for strengthening womens' enterprises in the region, as well as to generate a space for women in export to share experiences.

• To promote the presence of businesswomen in export in the APEC markets.

• To strengthen the Asia-Pacific women’s abilities to export.

• To share experiences and best practices of women in export.

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WORKSHOPS   16:25 – 17:45

13th MEETING OF THE APEC WOMEN LEADERS NETWORK
Arequipa, Peru
Monday to Wednesday, 12-14 May, 2008

The Women Leaders’ Network is a loose network of women that is affiliated with APEC which is flexible and consists of a multisectoral approach to recommendations. Its members are composed of the private sectors, academia, government and civil society. The purpose of WLN is to seek ways and develop strategies so that women’s concerns are heard, their aspirations considered, and their involvement firmly established when decisions and policies are made within APEC. The overall mission of the 13th meeting is to encourage and empower women in dynamic economic activities.

• Identify the key topics that affect the businesswomen and to remark their contribution to the economy.

• Establish solutions for the challenges that businesswomen face against the economy, the free trade and the globalization.

• Give opportunities to the leaders in order to interchange experiences and have a better access to the market.

Program (PDF, 4.6MB)

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To achieve this, she is conducting an online survey to gather information about your experiences in public policies and programs which help women to develop their enterprises and take part in international trade, particularly by using information technology (IT) and e-Commerce. 

The study is focused on Australia, Canada, Chile and Peru, but  women from other economies are also welcome to share their own experiences and recommendations. 

The online survey can be accessed by clicking on this link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2bfiW_2bHz2iXQW0vZ9FNANGQ_3d_3d

If you are unable to reach the online survey by clicking the link above, copy and paste the URL to your browser instead.

The project is on a tight time frame.  Your participation by 22nd May 2009 is appreciated.

Please share and forward a copy of this post to other women entrepreneurs.

Queries on this survey and the project can be directed to Andrina Lever at andrina@leverenterprises.com.  

Dear colleagues:

Warm Greetings from Peru.  I hope everybody is well!

This communication aims to inform you about the activities I have been taking part in in submitting the conclusions and recommendations of the 13th Meeting of the Women Leaders Network.

1.       Meeting of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade  

This meeting was held in Arequipa on 31 May and 1 June.  My presentation was on 1 June.  All we submitted was welcomed by the Chair of the meeting, Dr Mercedes Araoz, who agreed with the recommendations and outputs submitted, especially the inclusion of the gender implications in trade as a policy key issue to be considered by APEC Ministers and Economic Leaders, as well as the need for including women in planning, negotiation and implementation of trade agreements, in order to ensure gender issues are included as part of negotiations.  It is important to mention that the Ministerial Statement establishes in one of its paragraphs the following:

Gender

We welcomed the reports from the Gender Focal Point Network (GFPN) and Women Leaders Network (WLN), and recognized the importance of integrating gender considerations into the development of trade policy, and the need to strengthen APEC’s capacity in this regard.

We welcomed initiatives for the promotion of women exporters in the APEC region, particularly in developing economies, and reinforced the importance of continued cooperation between APEC and the business community to ensure that women entrepreneurs are able to both contribute to and benefit from free trade in the Asia-Pacific region.

2.        Meeting of the APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group

This meeting was held this year in Chiclayo on 25 – 27 August.  My presentation was on 26 August.

In this meeting, I submitted the conclusions of the six Gender Focal Point Network (GFPN) meetings, highlighting the need to modify the name of the Working Group to include Microenterprises.

It is important to mention that this Working Group took note of our submitted recommendations.  Additionally, Ms Andrina Lever and Ms Francine Whiteduck submitted their report Models for Supporting Women’s Microenterprise Development: Best Practices and Guidelines – Assessment and Recommendations from Phase III of a four-phase study.

3.       APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting

This meeting was held in Chiclayo city on 28 and 29 August this year.

On 29 August, I submitted my document to the meeting whose Chair was the Eng. Rafael Rey Rey, current Minister of Production.

This 15 Ministerial Meeting welcomed the recommendations of the 6 meetings of the GFPN which were considered on Items 7 and 16 of the Ministerial Statement:

7.  Ministers recognized the specific challenges faced by youth, women and minority-led SMEs and supported the inclusion of "Youth, Women and Minorities" as the cross-cutting theme within the priorities of the Strategic Plan.  Ministers agreed to continue inter-fora collaboration between SMEWG and the Gender Focal Pint Network (GFPN)

16. Ministers welcomed the participation of the GFPN, APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the Women Leaders Network (WLN), and noted their role in advancing APEC’s SME agenda and encouraged wider collaboration in areas of mutual interest.

In each meeting the work and goals of Women Leaders Network were disseminated. 

Our next report will be at the APEC Telecommunications Working Group Meeting to be held in October.

Sincerely yours,

(Sgd)  Dolores Tasayco Arana
Chair, 2008 APEC Women Leaders Network Meeting

The 13th APEC Women Leaders Network (WLN) Meeting was hosted by Peru through its Ministry for Women and Social Development (MIMDES).  It was held in Arequipa in May, 2008 under the theme Successful Women, Successful Economies. 

Visit the official website for the meeting at:  http://www.mimdes.gob.pe/apec

Message from the Chair, 2008 WLN Meeting – September, 2008

A copy of the program can be downloaded here (PDF, 4.6MB).

The WLN Statement, containing WLN’s recommendations to APEC economic leaders and ministers, is here.

MIMDES has progresively posted the presentation materials from the meeting, as well as those from the Digital Economy Forum for Women and Women in Export, on its website.  Note that MIMDES has produced both English and Spanish versions of these materials.  Check them out at the following links:

• Digital Economy Forum for Women / Mujeres en la Economía Digital
• Women in Export / Mujeres Exportadoras
• 13th Women Leaders Network Meeting / 13era. Reunión de la Red de Mujeres Líderes

May 12  Del Lunes 12 de mayo

May 13  Del Martes 13 de mayo

May 14  Del Mierkoles 14 de mayo

Photos from the meetings are available here.

Links to related media postings on the APEC website:

• Who Needs Women?  APEC Women Leaders Consider Their Options at the 13th APEC Women Leaders Network Meeting

• Women Leaders Network Leaders Exhort APEC Leaders and Ministers
• Webcast: 13th APEC Women Leaders Network Meeting

13th Meeting of the Women Leaders Network
Arequipa, Peru, 12â€Â14 May 2008

Recommendations to APEC Economic Leaders and Ministers

The 13th meeting of the Women Leaders Network (WLN) was convened in Arequipa, Peru the 12th – 14th May, 2008. The theme of the meeting was Successful Women, Successful Economies. Over three hundred women and men, representing the public and private sectors, civil society, academia and indigenous and rural women met to consider issues that are critical to supporting the 2008 APEC agenda and the Bogor Goals of free and open trade among the developed economies by 2010 and all economies by 2020. WLN affirmed its commitment to supporting Peru´s priorities of:

• Facilitation of Women’s Access to International Markets
• Education in ICT
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Rural Women & Trade
• Micro Enterprise and Micro Finance

WLN calls upon Economic Leaders and Ministers to implement the decisions taken by the 13th Meeting of the WLN. WLN calls upon the responsible Minister to inform your WLN representative of the extent of implementation of these recommendations before the next WLN meeting.

Ministers Responsible for Trade

Based on research conducted by WLN, and the proceedings of the 13th WLN meeting, including the Women in Export Day, WLN strongly recommends that the Ministers Responsible for Trade :

1. Direct their departments to:

a.   Develop and provide accessible and affordable export credit plans and microfinance for small and micro enterprises; and

b.   Develop capacity-building programs to assist women-led enterprises to access global supply chains, particularly in the service sector and for rural, impoverished and indigenous women.

2. Consult and include relevant women and women’s organizations in the planning, negotiation and implementation of trade agreements. This is to ensure that gender concerns and outcomes are included as an integral part of all negotiations and reports in relation to any and all trade arrangements.
3. Improve collection and analysis of sexâ€Âdisaggregated data on trade and entrepreneurship and continue to commission research and case studies to monitor these outcomes.
4. Address issues of Intellectual Property Protection of indigenous knowledge, arts and design, and prevent exploitation of traditional knowledge and ways of life.

Telecommunications and Information Working Group (TELWG)

To reduce the impact on women of the digital divide and enable them to take advantage of the digital economy:

1. Develop standards, uniform ICT indicators and sexâ€Âdisaggregated databases that can be applied across all economies so that meaningful comparisons can be made and reported.
2. Implement incentive programs to encourage the private sector at all levels to establish ICT infrastructure and training programs for women.
3. Make eâ€ÂTechnology available, affordable and sustainable for women, including women in rural areas.

Ministers Responsible for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

WLN recommends that you:

1. Develop enabling policies, programs and financing to bring womenâ€Âled micro enterprises into formal market systems by:

-     Reporting on the number of women-led enterprises in the formal and informal economy;

2. Create incentives to encourage corporations to

-     Attract, retain and promote women; and
-     Do business with women-led enterprises, including micro and SME, to facilitate women’s entry into global supply chains.

3. Ensure that governments increase the percentage of contracts with qualified womenâ€Âled enterprises.
4. Improve the collection of sexâ€Âdisaggregated data on micro, small and medium enterprises.

SMEs Working Group

WLN strongly recommends that the name of SME Working Group be changed to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Working Group.

Human Resources Development Working Group (HRDWG)

Develop an action plan to advance and promote:

-     the education of women and girls in science and technology
-     enterprise skills, beginning at school level

WLN within APEC

To further APEC’s achievements on its commitment to gender issues, WLN asks APEC Leaders to:

1. Grant the WLN guest status at the meetings of all APEC working groups from 2009;
2. Appoint at least one woman to each economy’s APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) delegation from 2008, to begin to address the striking gender imbalance currently evident within ABAC;
3. Include the presentation of the WLN recommendations by the Chair of WLN as a standing ABAC agenda item at the APEC Leaders Dialogue from 2009; and
4. Ensure the continued attendance of ABAC at the WLN meetings each year.

*******

WLN thanks the Ministry for Women and Social Development of Peru for their outstanding hospitality and congratulates the government of Peru for hosting these important events.

WLN looks forward to convening its 14th meeting in Singapore on 20 August, 2009

Click here (PDF, 102KB) to download a copy of this document.

Dear delegates from 21 economies of APEC

On behalf of Peru, I would like to welcome you to the 13th Annual Meeting of the Women Leaders Network, in Arequipa City – Peru. It will be held from 12 to 14 May 2008 and during this time there also will be an “International Trade Exhibition” and a Business Matching starting the 11.

The theme of this year’s meeting is “SUCCESSFUL WOMEN, SUCCESSFUL ECONOMIES” and it will address the integration of the global economy where we aim to explore knowledge and tools to advance the sustainable socio-economic business for women entrepreneurs and to help them to incorporate into the formal economic process. On 11 May, the Women in Export Trade Forum will be held, where we will also explore the growing complexity of international trade and identify global trade opportunities and risks, the new global consumers and the opportunities and challenges under the Free Trade Agreements. In addition, on May 9-10 there will be Women in Digital Economy Forum.

I assure you that all the women from different cultures will be able to access the emerging markets if we work together in APEC.

I would like to invite you to our amazing host city, Arequipa, which is the second largest city in Perú. It is at the foot of the wonderful volcano Misti with beautiful scenery, close to our well-known Cusco and the Modern Wonder of the World, Machu Picchu, which should be a powerful magnet for all of you talented, energetic and successful professionals. We will eagerly wait for your delegation with a warm open heart in this, your, Peru.

Sincerely yours,

SUSANA PINILLA,  Minister of Women and Social Development

DOLORES TASAYCO,  Vice Minister of Women and  Chair

For communication:

PERUVIAN APEC WOMEN TASKFORCE 2008 

13th Women Leaders Network (WLN):    

     cledesma@mimdes.gob.pe   (00-511-91888473 )

Digital Economy Forum and  Women in Export:    

     obardales@mimdes.gob.pe   (00 –511- 92754422)

Gender Focal Point Network (GFPN):    

     mfreyre@mimdes.gob.pe   (00-511-93043043)

Phone:

    00 – 511 – 501 2231

    00 – 511 – 501 2000 ext. 8026 or 8030

Fax:

     00 – 511 – 501 2307

Trade Exhibition :

     expoapecperu2008@foncodes.gob.pe

Business Matching :

     ruedaapecperu2008@foncodes.gob.pe

Visit the official website of the

2008 APEC Women Leaders Network (WLN) Meeting:

http://www.mimdes.gob.pe/apec

These events are an opportunity for Peru to further enhance its chairmanship of APEC by ensuring the 21 member economies recognise the importance of the role of women by incorporating gender perspectives into all their economic activities.

The events being organized by MIMDES will take place in Arequipa and Tacna in May and MIMDES is inviting the attendance and participation of women leaders from the 21 economies that make up APEC.

The first event organised by MIMDES will be Women in the Digital Economy to be held in Arequipa on 9 and 10 May. The event, expected to attract 200 participants, is a project of the Asia Pacific Women’s Information Centre (APWINC) and its focus is on encouraging women’s participation in the digital economy.

Another event to be held in the ‘White City’ is the Women Exporters forum which will involve 200 women seeking to boost their market presence in APEC. This event will be on May 11 and aims to strengthen the capacities of women exporters in the Asia-Pacific region as well as to share experiences among women exporters.

The 13th Meeting of the Women Leaders’ Network (WLN) will also be held in Arequipa from 12 to 14 May and its objectives are to increase training and the presence and participation of women leaders in APEC. WLN is an organisation of women entrepreneurs, academics and government officials linked through micro, small and medium enterprises. It is expected that 400 women from Peru and the economies of APEC will attend.

The Gender Training seminar, another of the events organized by MIMDES, is the outcome of an APEC project from the APWINC at Sookmyung Women’s University in South Korea and is aimed at encouraging government officials to incorporate gender strategies into all policies and proposals. This seminar will take place in Arequipa on 15 -16 May.  

The Sixth Meeting of Gender Focal Points is the fifth event being organised by MIMDES. Among its objectives are the promotion of the Framework for the Integration of Women in APEC in the region to achieve gender equality and economic integration, and promoting and collecting information about the participation of women in APEC fora. The representatives from the Offices for Women in each of the 21 economies that make up the Forum will meet in Tacna on 17 and 18 May.  

Additionally, within the framework of APEC there will be two associated activities -the Business Round in Arequipa on 9 and 10 May and the APEC Export Fair which will take place in the same city from 9 to 14 May.

MIMDES developed the preparatory phase of these events in 2007 by conducting five regional workshops, 3 regional forums and the forum International Meeting of Women Entrepreneurs Headed for APEC 2008 in Callao. At this event there were 1200 participants and exhibitors from Chile, South Korea and Mexico.
                                                                     

Lima, January 20, 2008