Thiruvananthapuram (The Hawk): Following the success of the first edition of the International Conference on Gender Equality (ICGE) that saw the official release of the Kerala State Policy for Transgenders, The Gender Park in association with UN Women is set to host the second edition of ICGE starting 11th February 2021. The main focus of the second edition will be to find practical solutions on pressing issues related to Gender and Sustainable Development.
Conforming to the global sustainable development agenda in letter and spirit, the ICGE organized by the Gender Park in Kozhikode on February 11, 12 and 13 will be the state's first fully Carbon Neutral event.
The forthcoming ICGE II aims to provide a platform for high-level dialogues and discussions on the role of gender empowerment in sustainable entrepreneurship and social businesses. The three-day conference will bring together prominent personalities, researchers and renowned activists in the field of Gender Equality, Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development. The keynote address will be given by Dr. Jayati Ghosh, a renowned development economist and Professor, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA. K K Shailaja Teacher, Minister for Health and Social Justice and Women and Child Development, Government of Kerala will chair the session where notable personalities Kalki Subramaniam, transgender activist, artist, actress, writer, inspirational speaker and entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu; Renana Jhabvala, President of SEWA Bharat and Vic Van Vuuren, Director of Enterprises Department at the International Labour Organization, Geneva will deliver special addresses.
The conference is an attempt to look at Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Social Business as agents that employ entrepreneurial means for providing workable solutions to gender inequality. Through this exercise, The Gender Park aims to throw light on the various alternatives available to resolve existing challenges to inclusive, sustainable development.
Speakers of the three-day conference include Subroto Bagchi, Chairman, Odisha Skill Development Authority; Subhalakshmi Nandi, Senior Program Officer for Gender Equality at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Dr Tara Nair, Professor, Gujarat Institute of Development Research (GIDR), C Balagopal, Senior Advisor at Terumo Penpol Limited and Ullas Marar, Interim Head at Women's Economic Empowerment Project at GIZ India.
ICGE-II will create an opportunity for globally reputed experts to share their knowledge and experience on different aspects of sustainable entrepreneurship and deliberate over the issues concerning women's participation in social businesses.
Based on the conference deliberations, The Gender Park along with the UN Women plans to draft a gender inclusive policy framework for sustainable entrepreneurship and social business. It aims to enhance development effectiveness of social enterprises by mainstreaming gender and inclusion into different stages of business operation. The policy framework will include a plan to measure the extent to which businesses align with UN's Sustainable Development Goals targets. The framework can be used to regulate, assess and certify social enterprises. Carbon neutrality of ICGE II will be achieved following the PAS 2060 Carbon Neutrality Standard that set out the requirements for conducting and demonstrating carbon neutrality allowing the event to improve environmental credentials with accuracy and transparency.
The Gender Park also aims to become the First Carbon Neutral Campus in the state in the coming years where the startup firm Vyduthi Energy Services will be supporting the department in creating and achieving the neutrality targets. The park aims to become a role model in supporting the state in its journey towards creating a #CarbonNeutralKerala.
