Tuvalu National Council for Women

Last updated
Tuvalu National Council for Women
Formation1980
Headquarters Funafuti
Co-ordinator
 Pulafagu Toafa

Tuvalu National Council for Women (TNCW) is a Tuvaluan national council, which is the umbrella organisation for non-governmental women's rights groups in the country. The TNCW aims to enable gender equity in Tuvalu, through educational campaigns and through resourcing women to be informed about their economic, legal and social rights.

Contents

Background

The work to create the Tuvalu National Council for Women (TNCW) began in the late 1970s. [1] It was formally established in 1980 during Tuvalu's transition to independence. [2] Initially the organisation's goals were to improve the standard of living for women, but this has expanded to include gender equity in all forms. [2]

Administration

The TNCW has a council which consists of sixteen women. [1] Two women represent each of the islands that compose the country. [1] It acts as a bridge between governmental and volunteer organisations and is registered as a charity. [1] [3] The TNCW has a staff of three: one co-ordinator and two further staff. [1] The organisation's base is in Funafuti. [4] As of 2021 the co-ordinator was Pulafagu Toafa. [5]

Lilian Falealuga Tine was previously the Interim Coordinator of the TNCW. [6] [7] [8]

Projects

The TNCW has run a variety of projects, including a programme to encourage legal literacy (which began in 1999), [9] providing training in family planning and business administration, as well as establishing the Women's Handicraft Centre, which is a nation-wide marketing system for women craftworkers, in particular for weaving. [1] In 2006 they secured funding from the Japanese government to fund improvements to the centre. [10] They have also run programs addressing violence against women. [5] In 2001 the TNCW began a credit scheme where women could borrow money in order to establish small businesses such as poultry farming, pig-keeping and catering. [2] However many loans went un-repaid. [2]

Programmes have also been run in response to the climate crisis. These include women planting mangroves as coastal protection, as well as home gardening projects and consultancy and education work. [2] In 2016 the TNCW worked with the Green Climate Fund to enable women from the islands of Nanumea and Nanumaga to be part of talks about climate crisis. One their key issues was the additional burden of social care than women take on in the aftermath of natural disasters. [11] In 2020 they co-ordinated the events for International Women's Day, which included a church service and hymn competition. [9]

Finance

Until 2011, the TNCW's annual budget was 10,000 AUS dollars, however that year it was cut by 50% – a trend that continued in 2012. The government stated that the reduction in support was as a response to the global financial crash. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuvalu</span> Country in Oceania

Tuvalu is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands, northeast of Vanuatu, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna, and north of Fiji.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Tuvalu</span>

The Western Pacific nation of Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is situated 4,000 kilometers (2,500 mi) northeast of Australia and is approximately halfway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna and north of Fiji. It is a very small island country of 26.26 km2 (10.14 sq mi). Due to the spread out islands it has the 38th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 749,790 km2 (289,500 sq mi). In terms of size, it is the second-smallest country in Oceania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Tuvalu</span>

The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians, so the origins of the people of Tuvalu can be traced to the spread of humans out of Southeast Asia, from Taiwan, via Melanesia and across the Pacific islands of Polynesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Tuvalu</span>

Tuvalu is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia, with a population of 11,192 per the 2017 census. The economy of Tuvalu is constrained by its remoteness and lack of economies of scale. Government revenues largely come from fishing licences ; direct grants from international donors ; and income from the Tuvalu Trust Fund. The lease of its highly fortuitous .tv Top Level Domain (TLD) also contributes revenue. The sale of stamps since the independence of Tuvalu in 1976 has been an important source of revenue for the country and government. However, such revenue has significantly declined in recent years. Tuvalu has hardly any tourism. It has no tour guides, tour operators, or organised activities, and no cruise ships visit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanumea</span> Atoll and one of nine districts of Tuvalu

Nanumea is the northwesternmost atoll in the Polynesian nation of Tuvalu, a group of nine coral atolls and islands spread over about 400 miles (640 km) of the Pacific Ocean just south of the equator and west of the International Date Line. Nanumea is 4 km2 (1.5 sq mi) with a population of 512 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fongafale</span> Island in Funafuti, Tuvalu

Fongafale is the largest and most populated of Funafuti's islets in Tuvalu. It is a long narrow sliver of land, 12 kilometres long and between 10 and 400 metres wide, with the South Pacific Ocean and reef on the east and the protected lagoon on the west. The north part is the Tengako peninsula, and Funafuti International Airport runs from northeast to southwest on the widest part of the island, with the village and administrative centre of Vaiaku on the lagoon side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanumanga</span> Reef island and one of nine districts of Tuvalu

Nanumanga or Nanumaga is a reef island and a district of the Oceanian island nation of Tuvalu. It has a surface area of about 3 km2 with a population of 491.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funafuti International Airport</span> Airport in Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu

Funafuti International Airport is an airport in Funafuti, in the capital city of the island nation of Tuvalu. It is the sole international airport in Tuvalu. Fiji Airways operates between Suva and Funafuti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funafuti</span> Atoll and one of nine districts of Tuvalu

Funafuti is an atoll, comprising numerous islets, that serves as the capital of Tuvalu. As of the 2017 census, it has a population of 6,320 people. More people live in Funafuti than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with it containing approximately 60% of the nation's population. The main islet, Fongafale, hosts Vaiaku, the administrative center of the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kausea Natano</span> Tuvaluan politician (born 1957)

Kausea Natano is a politician who served as the Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 19 September 2019 to 26 February 2024. He represented Funafuti as a Member of Parliament. He was first elected in the 2002 Tuvaluan general election and served as an MP until he was unseated in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election.

Renewable energy in Tuvalu is a growing sector of the country's energy supply. Tuvalu has committed to sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable energy. This is considered possible because of the small size of the population of Tuvalu and its abundant solar energy resources due to its tropical location. It is somewhat complicated because Tuvalu consists of nine inhabited islands. The Tuvalu National Energy Policy (TNEP) was formulated in 2009, and the Energy Strategic Action Plan defines and directs current and future energy developments so that Tuvalu can achieve the ambitious target of 100% renewable energy for power generation by 2020. The program is expected to cost 20 million US dollars and is supported by the e8, a group of 10 electric companies from G8 countries. The Government of Tuvalu worked with the e8 group to develop the Tuvalu Solar Power Project, which is a 40 kW grid-connected solar system that is intended to provide about 5% of Funafuti’s peak demand, and 3% of the Tuvalu Electricity Corporation's annual household consumption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change in Tuvalu</span> Emissions, impacts and responses of Tuvalu related to climate change

Climate change is particularly threatening for the long-term habitability of the island country of Tuvalu, which has a land area of only 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) and an average elevation of less than 2 metres (6.6 ft) above sea level, with the highest point of Niulakita being about 4.6 metres (15 ft) above sea level. Potential threats to the country due to climate change include rising sea levels, increasingly severe tropical cyclones, high temperatures, and drought. King tides can combine with storm surges and the rising sea level to inundate the low lying atolls.

Tuvalu is a small island nation in the South Pacific, located North of Fiji and North West of Samoa. The population at the 2012 census was 10,837. Tuvalu has a written constitution which includes a statement of rights influenced by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. While most human rights in Tuvalu are respected, areas of concern include women’s rights and freedom of belief, as well as diminishing access to human rights in the face of global warming. The latter has played a major role in the implementation of human rights actions in Tuvalu given its geographical vulnerability and scarce resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Tuvalu drought</span> Natural disaster in Tuvalu

The 2011 Tuvalu drought was a period of severe drought afflicting Tuvalu, a South Pacific island country of approximately 10,500 people, in the latter half of 2011. A state of emergency was declared on September 28, 2011; with rationing of available fresh-water. The La Niña event that caused the drought ended in April–May 2012. By August 2012 the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Conditions indicated that the tropical Pacific Ocean was on the brink of an El Niño event.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Tuvalu</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuvalu Meteorological Service</span>

The Tuvalu Meteorological Service (TMS) is the principal meteorological observatory of Tuvalu and is responsible for providing weather services to the islands of Tuvalu. A meteorological office was established on Funafuti at the time the islands of Tuvalu were administered as parts of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony of the United Kingdom. The meteorological office is now an agency of the government of Tuvalu.

Milikini Failautusi is an activist from Tuvalu in the areas of youth, climate change, gender, human rights, indigenous rights, and sexual reproductive health and rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coral reefs of Tuvalu</span> List of coral reefs in Tuvalu

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The Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project (TCAP) was launched in 2017 to meet the challenges to Tuvalu resulting from climate change and sea-level rise affecting the islands of Tuvalu. Tuvalu was the first country in the Pacific to access climate finance from Green Climate Fund, with the support of the UNDP.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Stocktake of the Gender Mainstreaming Capacity of Pacific Island Governments: TUVALU (PDF). Secretariat of the Pacific Community. 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Background Information (PDF). Tuvalu Trade Portal.
  3. ↑ Tuvalu: the 56th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (PDF). United Nations. 2012.
  4. ↑ "Tuvalu National Council of Women". Commonwealth of Nations. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  5. 1 2 "Progressing Women's Empowerment in Tuvalu". BORGEN. 2017-12-20. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  6. ↑ "Raising the voice of rural women in Tuvalu". UNDP. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  7. ↑ "Creating opportunity for vulnerable women in the Pacific islands". Grameen Foundation BELUU Program Team. 10 June 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  8. ↑ Tomu Paneta Hauma (2023). "A Study on the Commercial Development for Handicrafts to Enhance and Strengthen the Handicraft Industry in (Funafuti)" (PDF). Department of Trade of Tuvalu. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  9. 1 2 "Tuvalu National Council of Women International Women's Day release". Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  10. ↑ "Embassy of Japan". www.fj.emb-japan.go.jp. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  11. ↑ FP015: Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project (PDF). Green Climate Fund.
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