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The forum aims to build capacity of MVA executive members by facilitating knowledge exchange with counterparts in other provinces, providing training in important skills such as proposal writing, and conducting advocacy sessions with key partners.
The Market Vendors Association (MVA) Forum, organized by UN Women to empower women market vendors, was held in Honiara, Solomon Islands, from 11 to 13 June.
The Market Vendors Association (MVA) Forum, organized by UN Women to empower women market vendors, was held in Honiara, Solomon Islands, from 11 to 13 June.
More than 80 market vendors from MVAs including Auki (Malaita), Gizo (West), Munda (West), Honiara (Guadalcanal) and Buala (Isabel) came together for a three-day forum for reflection, training, awareness-raising, networking and learning.
The forum aims to build capacity of MVA executive members by facilitating knowledge exchange with counterparts in other provinces, providing training in important skills such as proposal writing, and conducting advocacy sessions with key partners.
The Human Development Counsellor of the Australian High Commission to the Solomon Islands, Mr. Tristan Armstrong, opened the event by highlighting Australia’s support for women in the marketplace and recognizing that women’s economic empowerment is critical to achieving gender equality.
“We recognise that markets are vital to both communities and national economies. In Solomon Islands, like many Pacific Island countries, a large proportion of the population lives in rural areas and is completely dependent on markets to buy and sell essential goods for their families. Therefore, projects like this have a profound impact on everyone in Solomon Islands,” he said.
Participants also had the opportunity to assess the current status of valuation in their respective markets and identify areas for improvement through various interactive sessions. The forum was a key event under the Markets for Change (M4C) project, which promotes gender equality through economic empowerment of female market vendors in Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The second phase of M4C is being implemented by UN Women in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and the Australian Government.
Alvina Erekali, UN Women’s Solomon Islands Country Programme Coordinator, highlighted the key role of the MVAs, stressing their importance as advocates for market vendors and their role in fostering relationships and networks with market management and government entities. “Our focus today is not only on building capacity, but also on developing women’s leadership,” she said. “We are committed to intergenerational leadership, empowering young women to take on leadership roles while respecting the experience and wisdom of older generations. This dynamic exchange ensures that our leadership remains dynamic and inclusive, promoting continued growth and empowerment for all women involved.”
Gizo MVA chairperson Lauretta Nasala said the MVA forum provided important training to suppliers, including skills such as proposal writing.
“I am very happy to be back at the Gizo MVA and bring back what we have learned from this forum. We have been able to learn and share our challenges and experiences with other MVAs. They have solutions for themselves that we didn’t know about before and we know there are things we can share with them,” she said.
Source: UN Women News Release
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