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Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. FUKAZAWA’s Attendance at Public Seminar "Thinking with the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council: Investing in Gender Equality for Sustainable Future for All”
On December 14, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. FUKAZAWA Yoichi attended the public seminar "Thinking with the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council: Investing in Gender Equality for Sustainable Future for All” hosted by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo, where he delivered closing remarks. The overview of the event is as follows.
- Following opening remarks by Mr. SUNAMI Atsushi, President of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Ms. Anda Sapardan (Co-Founder of Sehati Group) and Mr. SHIBUSAWA Ken (CEO of Shibusawa & Company) delivered lectures in turn.
- This was followed by a panel discussion on the theme of “Investing in gender equality through Public Private Partnership to maximize social impact.” The panel discussion was moderated by Mr. SHIBUSAWA and participating panelists included Ms. Sapardan, Dr. Maxime Houinato (Regional Director for UN Women East and Southern Africa Regional Office) and Ms. Sarah Sands (Deputy Chair of the British Council). The panelists engaged in lively discussions.
- Parliamentary Vice-Minister FUKAZAWA concluded the seminar by expressing his gratitude to the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, the panelists, and all others involved, saying that the seminar was very useful in providing thought-provoking discussions from a variety of professional perspectives. He said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue its efforts to mainstream gender equality into all policy areas, taking into account the opinions of people from a wide range of perspectives.
The Gender Equality Advisory Council (GEAC) is an external advisory body that makes recommendations on gender equality for G7 leaders. Launched in 2018 by Canada during their G7 Presidency, the council has since been convened by the respective G7 Presidency each year. The GEAC has submitted useful recommendations to the leaders of the G7 to achieve gender equality and promote the empowerment of women.
This year, 14 members actively involved in the gender field from the G7 and other countries as well as international organizations were appointed and submitted a summary of recommendations to Prime Minister Kishida on May 8, prior to the G7 Hiroshima Summit, as well as its final report on December 12. Ms. Anda Sapardan, Dr. Maxime Houinato and Ms. Sarah Sands who attended this seminar were members of the GEAC.