Seoul Women's Foundation Conference 2004
When Girls Action Foundation was invited to speak at an International conference on young women’s health, safety and empowerment in Seoul, Korea, we had to say “yes!” I had the pleasure of being the one to represent Girls Action at a symposium with more than 100 participants – including girls from schools in Seoul, academics from surrounding universities, policy makers and decision-makers from local governments, and women working in social service agencies dedicated to serving young women.
The two-day conference was packed full of Korean and English speakers (simultaneous translation was thankfully always available!). Other international speakers included Rodelyn Marte from the Network of Asia Pacific Youth (NAPY), Elizabeth Coombs from the Office for Women in New South Wales, Australia, and Hui-Jong Chi from the Garden of Hope Foundation in Taiwan. Girls Action had been sought out as a leading example of young women’s initiatives worldwide. We were invited to give a talk in their section on “good practice.” I tried to present an overview of the work Girls Action has been doing over the last decade in Canada, highlighting work at the local level through Girls Club in Montréal, and at the national level through the Transforming Spaces conference held in 2003.
To give you a little background on the groups that organized this conference in Seoul, let me tell you about the Seoul Women’s Foundation and the Resource Centre for Young Women. Since 2000, the Resource Centre for Young Women has been actively engaged with young women in the following areas:
- Prevention and street outreach – running a school intervention program, a street outreach service, a sex education centre, and a counselling center;
- Support and empowerment – offering health service, emotional support and independent living
- Networking and training (for program facilitators, educators, and peer counsellors). (more information about this centre can be found at: http://1318.seoul.go.kr)
The Seoul Women’s Foundation’s mandate is to promote women’s empowerment, equality, networking and creativity. Their office is located in the Seoul Women’s Plaza. This is also where the conference was held. The Seoul Women’s Plaza is a big, beautiful and brand new building that opened in 2004, in response to growing public demand for a central point for the social activities and interaction of women. Currently, it is the largest facility in Korea dedicated exclusively to the use of women. Not only are there spaces for conference activities, meetings, and recreational activities but there is also a museum of Korean women’s history at the Seoul Women’s Plaza. And, at the time of the conference, the Plaza was filled with Korean women’s multi-media artwork. (more information about this foundation can be found at: www.seoulwomen.or.kr)
The conference was an incredible networking opportunity where strong links were made between people and organizations committed to young women’s issues around the world. The work of Girls Action generated tremendous enthusiasm and interest. I felt almost overwhelmed at the number of questions conference participants and organizers had about the state of young women’s policy in domains of health, safety and empowerment in Canada. Girls Action was interviewed for 2 weekly Korean women’s newspapers (The Women’s Times and The Women’s Press) and I had the impression that television and other media outlets were covering this event as well.
The International Symposium on the Safety, Health and Empowerment of Young Women was clearly a high profile event in Seoul. By the end of the two days, there seemed to be growing momentum and a renewed commitment to developing policies that would enhance young women’s safety, health and empowerment. I felt honoured to have been given the chance to learn, share, and network with like-minded colleagues in Seoul, Korea. I hope future collaboration may be facilitated by this first international conference experience in which the work of Girls Action was featured as a keynote presentation. - Stephanie Austin
