News & Topics

At the Fourth World Conference on Women, held by the United Nations in Beijing in 1995, empowerment was identified as a key concept for promoting women’s rights and gender equality. The Platform for Action adopted at that time clearly defines empowerment as the process through which women gain the power necessary to improve their own lives.

This year’s Kitakyushu Conference on Asian Women is themed around empowerment.

We will be held two days conference. From across Asia, we will invite the SEWA and the HABI: The Philippine Textile Council that provide education and training for women’s empowerment. From Japan, we will highlight how individual women are being empowered and how their empowerment is spreading to others.

In two-day sessions titled “Empowerment! Who leads, and how?”, we will present an empowerment relay presentation from Japan and across Asia, featuring videos of these women in action. The program will be delivered with simultaneous interpretation in Japanese and English.

Date：

Part 1 (Form Aisa): Wednesday, September 17, 2025 1:30-3:30 PM (JST)

Part 2 (From Japan): Saturday, September 20, 2025 1:30-3:15 PM (JST)

* Please make sure your country time

Speakers：

Part 1

SEWA : Self Employed Women’s Association（India）

Ms. Manali Shah（National Secretary）

Ms. Pinakini Solanki　（Executive Committee member, Urban Union）

HABI : the Philippines Textile Council（Philippines）

Ms. Adelaida Lim　（President Emeritus）

Part 2

Ms. YAMAUCHI Chiharu　（Director, “Eyes for Safety – Anti-Spy Camera Volunteers”）

Ms. KAMENOO Miki　(the Network for Gender Equality and Participation in CHIKUJYO Town)

* Simultaneous interpretation in English

* Free Registration

* Zoom Webinar (200 participants max.)

Register Online from HERE

or

Scan to access the registration form

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊【Finished】＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

The Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW) has launched a panel exhibition to commemorate Beijing+30 (the 30th anniversary of the 4th World Conference on Women) as follows:

Date: 27 May, 2025 to 30 June, 2025

Venue: 1F Kitakyushu Municipal Gender Equality Center

Online panel exhibition is also available:

https://kfawbeijing30.my.canva.site/kfaw-30-ngo

At this exhibition, “Desire for Blue Skies,” a film which was screened by Kitakyushu women at the 4th World Conference on Women NGO Workshop as an example of Kitakyushu’s environmental movement, is shown for a limited time from May 27 to June 30, 2025.

“Desire for Blue Skies” is an independent film produced by the Tobata Women’s Association Council to showcase the efforts of women in Tobata to tackle pollution. In the 1950s to 1960s, when there was heavy air pollution in Kitakyushu, women in the Tobata area stood up and pushed companies and the local government to address pollution. In the film, the women appeal for a correlation between air pollution and health hazards based on scientific data they had collected.

The women have learned, researched, and achieved results regarding local pollution. This is surely an empowerment movement.

Please take this opportunity to see “Desire for Blue Skies,” a film that shows the path of the women who worked to overcome pollution.

*This video is available for a limited time from May 27 to June 30.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊【Finished】＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

The Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW) is looking for three Foreign Correspondents (FCs) to take part in information collection and analysis on gender equality and empowerment of women. Interested candidates are required to submit application by 31 May 2025.

Please see the following link for application guideline and application form.

application guideline

application form

If you have any inquires, please contact Public Relations at info@kfaw.or.jp

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊【Finished】＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

As the global population continues to grow, the Asia region stands out as an exception where the population continues to decline. 

Particularly in Japan, where the population decline is most pronounced, how should we live in the future? 

And is this issue primarily related to women, who are often seen as the “childbearing gender”?

We will hear from Dr. Keiko Osaki-Tomita, a member of the group of experts on international migration statistics at the United Nations and the President of Tokiwa University and Tokiwa Junior College. 

We will also invite experts from the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR) of Mahidol University in Thailand to share the latest situation in Thailand, the status and challenges faced by Thai women, and discuss the policies of both countries, including a Q&A session with participants.

15-Feb. (Sat.), 2025    13:30-16:10(JST)    * Please make sure your country time

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Keiko Osaki-Tomita

President, Tokiwa University and Tokiwa Junior College

Speaker: Dr. Sureeporn Punpuing

Associate Professor,

Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR),

Mahidol University, Thailand

* Simultaneous interpretation in English

* Free Registration

* Zoom Webinar (200 participants max.)

Scan to access the registration form

or

Register online (Deadline: 12-Feb. (Wed.))

https://x.gd/EjlXM

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊【Finished】＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

The government and local governments have begun to promote rehabilitation programs for the perpetrators of domestic violence with the goal of fundamentally eliminating the act of perpetration, in addition to the conventional measures to separate the victim from the perpetrator.

The lecturer realized his own perpetration after his wife took shelter and started an organization to support people suffering from domestic violence and the perpetrators.

Time:20 November (Wed.) 2024 from 13:30~15:30 (JST)

*Please make sure your country time.

Venue: ①Online Streaming via Zoom (English/Japanese) or  ②Viewing at the venue(the Kitakyushu Municipal Gender Equality Center MOVE (*ONLY Japanese language)

Language: Simultaneous interpretation in English / Japanese is provided

Organized by Kitakyushu Municipal Gender Equality Center “MOVE” & Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW)

Lecturer: Mr. NAKAGAWA Taku & Ms. NAKAGAWA Aiko (Japanese NPO/ “FFP”) 

Anyone is welcome to join, not just those involved in these issues.

Application：

1）URL：https://x.gd/VjvbL

2）Please scan the code below.