On February 12-13, 2008, in Pasig City, Philippines, AWCF convened the Public Awareness Conference on “Empowering ASEAN Women through Micro-Enterprise Development in Co-ops.” The event was supported by the ASEAN Foundation (AF) in coordination with the Japan ASEAN Solidarity Fund (JASF), and hosted by the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), AWCF’s member in the Philippines. The Conference was actually the last of the three components of the AF-supported AWCF project implemented in 2007, that is, the “Building Capacities of Women Entrepreneurs and Exploring Opportunities for Micro-Enterprise Development for Co-operatives in Southeast Asia” project. The project’s other components were the regional exchange program “Women Entrepreneurs and Exploring Opportunities for Micro-Enterprise Development in Co-operatives in Southeast Asia” held March 19-April 1, 2007 in Indonesia; and the regional forum “ICT Applications in Enterprise Development: Building Networks and Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs in Co-operatives,” held July 31-August 3, 2007 in Thailand.

The February Conference aimed at showcasing the development projects between AWCF and AF, particularly the results and recommendations regarding the empowerment of women and the reduction of poverty through entrepreneurship development and the application of information and communication technology (ICT) within the ASEAN or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Conference intended to further strengthen the network for women entrepreneurs in the region. With these goals, the Conference specifically aimed at making the public aware of the results of the entrepreneurship development program and of the development of women entrepreneurs in co-ops and self-help groups on matters pertaining to women empowerment and poverty reduction; and serving as venue in assessing the sustainability, application, and implementation of the enterprise development action plan prepared by the participants of the AWCF-AF projects during entrepreneurship training vis-à-vis the committed support and guidance of their respective organizations.

The 10 ASEAN states’ female and male representatives at the two-day Conference came from co-operatives, national machineries for women and poverty alleviation, and government agencies. On Day Two, these representatives gave country reports that included, among other information, their country’s poverty situation, condition of women, and the status of the Co-operative Entrepreneurship Development Action Plan (CEDAP) that were submitted by their country participants who joined the AWCF-AF project duration. Earlier on Day One, the representatives from the ASEAN states were joined by selected guests from regional co-op networks and primary co-ops; government, non-government, and United Nations (UN) agencies that assist co-ops and other self-help groups in the ASEAN states; ASEAN embassies based in the Philippines; and media representatives. Together with the guests, the ASEAN representatives were able to listen to distinguished Day One resource speakers who tackled subjects that reinforced the Conference theme. The first day had more than 70 participants and guests in attendance.

AF Executive Director Dr. Filemon A. Uriarte Jr. keynoted the Conference. He spoke of the women sector, particularly women entrepreneurs, as an important stakeholder in building the ASEAN community, and of the potential of women advancing through entrepreneurship. He said that women have demonstrated the passion and persistence to succeed, whether they are starting a home-based business to support a family, planning a large-scale enterprise with an industry presence, or launching a not-for-profit organization to make a social difference.

Dr. Uriarte also remarked that the Public Awareness Conference is a means to help the participants develop awareness on how to effectively utilize the “power people” in their lives, meaning those who can help women develop as entrepreneurs and gain empowerment. He also described AWCF as a kind of a power network giving assistance in entrepreneurship to women.

The AF Executive Director also said that his organization is willing to continue its partnership with women entrepreneurs and to support activities like the one currently being held as all this promote people-to-people interaction and cooperation among various ASEAN stakeholders.

Dr. Uriarte likewise explained in his keynote that in AF’s 10 years of existence, it has provided over US$15M worth of financial support to more than 110 projects in the areas of social development, science and technology, environment and culture, and information. AF is also currently providing over US$4.7M to more than 30 ongoing projects.

Welcome messages at the Conference’s opening ceremonies in the morning came from Mr. Wilfredo Dimamay, Chairperson of NATCCO; and Ms Kruewan Chonlanai, Vice President for Internal Affairs of AWCF. Ms Salome Ganibe, AWCF Executive Director, gave a Conference overview as well as recognition of the participants and guests, who also included the AWCF Board of Trustees and Election Committee members. The AWCF officers’ presence in the Conference was also in preparation for their organizational meeting on February 14-15 in the same venue.

To cap the morning session of Day One of the Conference, AWCF showed to the audience an audio-video summary of the implementation and results of the AWCF-AF partnership, which started in 2001 with the regional forum “Women, Gender and Co-operatives in Asia: Meeting Challenges, Exploring Opportunities” held in Bangkok; then the 2003-2004 regional exchange program “Promoting Economic Empowerment of Women as Important Dimension to Building Gender Equality in Southeast Asia" done in the Philippines and Thailand; and, finally, the recent project in 2007.

Discussions on a theme

In Day One’s afternoon session, four eminent speakers tackled the theme “Enterprise Development and Poverty Reduction Toward Building the ASEAN Community.” Their presentations took off from the various ways by which ASEAN women are being assisted to improve their situation and condition, such as by becoming entrepreneurs. The speakers were followed by three distinguished resource persons who offered their insights and recommendations.

The four speakers and their topics were: Mr. Rommel Agustin, Executive Director, Advocate of Philippine Fair Trade, Inc. (APFTI), “Fair Trade: An Alternative Trading System for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)”; Mr. Mariel Vincent Rapisura, President and Chief Executive Officer, Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI), Philippines, “Providing Business Development Services through the Business Development Center (BDC)”; Ms Ganibe, “Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Applications in Enterprise Development Programs”; and Ms Chonlanai, “Information Technology (IT)-supported BDCs in Thailand, Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT).”

The resource persons and their topics were Ms Ma. Lourdes Kathleen Santos-Cacho, Program Assistant on Employment-International Labour Organization (ILO) Sub-Regional Office for South-East Asia and the Pacific, “Job Creation in Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises”; Dr. Amelou Benitez-Reyes, President, ASEAN Confederation of Women’s Organizations (ACWO), “Insights and Recommendations on AWCF’s Initiatives to Empower ASEAN Women through Micro-Enterprises in Co-ops”; and Dr. Alvin Marcelo, Manager, International Open Source Network (IOSN), ASEAN+3 Sub-Regional Node, “Free and/or Open Source Software (FOSS) in Support of Women and MSMEs.” Ms Cacho explained ILO’s programs and services, and how organizations can coordinate with ILO in pursuing their goals. She invited the participants to contact the ILO office nearest them. Dr. Reyes lauded AWCF’s efforts to help in the economic and social empowerment of women in the region. She proposed closer coordination between ACWO and AWCF and other participants of the Conference, such as by relaying to ACWO and national councils of women in the ASEAN region more information about co-ops; and participation in the “ASEAN Regional Conference on Women” and “13^th ACWO General Assembly” in Manila, November 2008. Dr. Reyes also shared about “womenomics” as ACWO's framework with three components: women entrepreneurship and microfinance; women's integration in the digital economy; and e-leadership/e-governance. The framework sets itself apart from other poverty strategies that see women as victims. She also mentioned that her presidency of ACWO will last till 2008, but she offered that AWCF and other interested organizations can still coordinate with her through her other engagements, such as being the president of the Philippine Women’s University, where, for example, short programs can be designed and offered to address women’s needs. Dr. Marcelo, meanwhile, underscored the advantages and how-tos of FOSS that women entrepreneurs and MSMEs in general can use for their businesses, which will also enable them to make savings in the process, which can be use for other areas of their business operations. He emphasized the need for FOSS users to be united in being vigilant in using FOSS so as to maximize its benefits, and to be able to immediately address problems that may crop up, if ever, such as viruses.

Country reports

Day Two of the Conference focused on the insights and applications of learning gained from the ASEAN countries’ participation in the AWCF-AF projects, including the 2007 project. Participants were thus trimmed down to the representatives of the 10 ASEAN countries—a mix of co-op groups, government agencies, and national machineries for women and poverty alleviation—some of whom were actual participants in the projects, or who had met with and collated the experiences from the participants in their countries. Also present on the second day were the AWCF Officers and Secretariat, and AF representatives. The presentors were the following:

Brunei Darussalam: Dyg. Hj. Hajidah Awg. Haji Abdul Wahab, Assistant Treasurer, Women Counci of Brunei Darussalam; and Azlina Aji, (Dk Azlina Pg Hj Aji), Co-op Development Officer, Brunei Industrial Development Authority. Cambodia: Ms Chuth Leang Vanny, Deputy Director General for Gender Equality and Economic Development, Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA); and Mr. Sil Vineth, Executive Director, Socio-Economic Development Organization of Cambodia (SEDOC). Indonesia: Ms Anik Dwi Martuti, Executive Secretary, Forum for Indonesian Co-operatives Movement (FORMASI Indonesia). Lao PDR: Ms Itmany Chantekhoune, Vice President, Provincial Lao Women’s Union (LWU); Mr. Saner Hoonghuai, Project Consultant, Foundation for Integrated Agricultural and Environmental Management (FIAM). Malaysia: Mr. M. Annamalai, Finance and Accounts Manager, Koperasi Kredit Pekerja-Pekerja Berhad (KKP), Credit Union Promotion Club, Malaysia. Myanmar: Mr. U Kyaw Thein, Central Co-operative Society (CCS). Philippines: Ms Norma Pereyras, member, Board of Directors, NATCCO. Singapore: Ms Adelaide Chang Shook Leng, Director and Education Chair, DEW Credit Co-operative. Thailand: Ms Kruewan Chonlanai, Head, Office of the General Manager, Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT). Vietnam: Ms Nghiem Duc Hien, Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU).

After the presentations, session moderator Ms Angelita Valdez, AWCF Program Coordinator, remarked that the reports aptly showed the different conditions and results in each country, of which the totality is that all aim at realizing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), poverty alleviation, and gender equality. The ASEAN countries have to face challenges, said Ms Valdez, such as having innovative programs and services to meet the need of organizations’ members as well as that of the communities. Ms Valdez cited some specific measures to address this challenge, based on the reports, such as promoting gender awareness in all ASEAN countries; strengthening existing women’s groups in Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar; and promoting and establishing co-ops following the co-op principles and values, in Cambodia, for instance.

Another challenge is the effective mobilization of resources for gender equity and equality. One way of addressing this, again based on the reports, is by continuous education and training to develop human resources. Decision-makers should the first ones to be convinced about gender equality. Then also, of course, the staff and the entrepreneurs themselves, Ms Valdez said.

Ms Valdez also named as a challenge the continuous promotion and ventilation of the issues in the mass media. Then, the compliance of organizations like enterprises with government policies in each country, and also awareness about policies that can threaten small to medium enterprises. There is also the challenge of being able to use tools for basic and advanced training in each country, and the need to know the different resources available in the various organizations and countries. Ms Valdez cited as a final challenge the need to reach out to the women in the field, especially the women entrepreneurs, to help them to be strong and to overcome the fear of failure.

The closing messages for Day Two were given by Mr. Annamalai, AWCF Vice President for External Affairs, and Mr. Ajie Akhmad Wahidin, AF Programme Officer. Mr. Annamalai refreshed everyone of the inputs from the various speakers of Day One and enjoined all to take home and apply their learning. Mr. Ajie thanked everyone for their participation in the Conference, and mentioned that the involvement of AF in the event attests to the support of AF to the efforts of AWCF.

In the afternoon of Day Two, the participants visited the offices and factory in Manila of the Social Action Foundation for Rural and Urban Development Inc. (SAFRUDI). SAFRUDI is a Fair Trade Organization that aims at forming a web of self-propelling communities imbued with and living out moral and spiritual principles. It works to empower small entrepreneurs and artisans through its social economic program, and initiates capacity-building projects in communities enrolled under its “Integrated Social Development Program.”

With the project “Building Capacities of Women Entrepreneurs and Exploring Opportunities for Micro Enterprise development for Co-operatives in Southeast Asia,” a partnership project between AWCF and ASEAN Foundation (AF) implemented for 2007-2008, AWCF was able to further intensify its reach within the ASEAN states through partnership with co-operatives, government agencies, and non-government organizations (NGOs) that have existing projects on empowering women.

From January 13 to 27, 2008, AWCF visited four Southeast Asian countries namely Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia with the intention of: meeting the participants of the previous AWCF-AF activities, have an update on the status of the Co-operative Entrepreneurship Development Action Plan (CEDAP) they made, and gather from them learning, insights, and changes brought by participating in these AWCF-AF activities. Organizations met by AWCF include: Lao Women’s Union in Lao PDR; Credit Union League of Thailand and its selected credit Union members in Thailand; Center for Agricultural Extension Volunteers (CAEV), Vietnam Co-operative Alliance (VCA), and Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) in Vietnam; and selected co-operatives and NGO affiliates of the Forum for Indonesian Co-operatives Movement (FORMASI Indonesia).