The International Studies Department (ISD) under the College of International Humanitarian and Development Studies (CIHDS) in Miriam College is honored to have hosted the 1st Regional Intensive Training Course entitled, “Asia Pacific Capacity Development on Gender and Macroeconomic Issues,” held from 14-25 June 2010. This event was organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangkok, in cooperation with Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), International Working Group on Gender, Macroeconomics and International Economics (GEM-IWG), and Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN).

The objective of the intensive training course was to equip Asia-Pacific economists, government practitioners, academics and civil society representatives with tools and information to analyze, design and implement gender-responsive macroeconomic policies and plans. It was attended by more than 50 participants from 20 different countries in the Asia- Pacific region. Dean Leticia Ramos-Shahani, also a former UN Assistant Secretary for Social and Humanitarian Affairs and Secretary General of the Nairobi Conference on Women welcomed the participants during the Welcome Dinner held on June 14, 2010. Ms. Yumiko Yamamoto of UNDP, Kyoko Kusakabe of AIT, and Gigi Francisco of Miriam

College and DAWN, successfully commenced the sessions on the first day, which continued on for more than a week.

Part of the training involved a public forum that was held on Friday, June 18, 2010 at the Little Theater. Two resource persons from DAWN were Dr. Marina Durano from the Philippines, who shared her recent intervention on Policy Coherence at the Civil Society Consultations on the Millennium Development Goals held in New York; andDr. Gita Sen from India, who delivered a presentation on Tobin Tax and Women via videoconferencing. The course featured other speakers from the Philippines including, Dr. Maria Floro, (American University), Ms. Maita Gomez (Action for Economic Reforms), Dr. Margarita Guerrero (UNESCAP), and Dr. Joseph Yap (Philippine Institute for Development Studies). With support from the Government of Japan, the event also provided a good opportunity for all fellows to share experiences with each other and interact with experts in the field.

Miriam College’s Vice-President for Higher Education, Dr. Glenda Fortez, officially closed the event by awarding the Certificates of Participation together with Professor Aurora de Dios, Executive Director of Women and Gender Institute (WAGI) at the Fellows Farewell Dinner held last June 23, 2010. As everybody bid each other goodbye through messages of thanks, Dr. Durano, who spoke on behalf of the instructors, left a simple but important reminder that the significance of any training lies in the mutual sharing of knowledge, rich exchange of development experience, and bold commitment by all participants to utilize lessons learned when and where appropriate. This, as she said, is the “cycle of learning that continues with the cycle of life.”

For more information on the training, please visit the website of UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre:

http://asia-pacific.undp.org/practices/poverty_reduction/regional_initia…
http://asia-pacific.undp.org/practices/poverty_reduction/knowledge_shari…