UN Women’s Second Policy Forum Explores Intersection of Climate, Gender, and Technology
Seoul, September 07, 2023 – UN Women, the leading global champion for gender equality and the empowerment of women hosted the Second Policy Forum on Exploring Climate, Gender, and Technology. This pivotal event took place on September 5th, 2023 at Hotel President in Seoul. The event brought together government officers in charge of managing gender equality programmes at national and local levels, development partners, members of the diplomatic community and civil society actors to address the pressing challenges at the nexus of climate change, gender equality, and technological innovation.
The Second Policy Forum on Exploring Climate, Gender, and Technology builds on the success of its inaugural edition, held this year which placed great emphasis on women’s accessibility and utilization of technology. With climate change posing unprecedented challenges and technology shaping the way we respond to them, the forum seeks to advance our collective understanding of how these dynamics intersect and how they can be harnessed to empower women and promote gender equality.
The purpose of the forum was to have a discussion on the transition to sustainable economics and women’s role, to learn more about the gender aspects of energy access, renewable energy, and efficiency, and equal opportunities for women in energy and to understand the benefits of gender integration in climate action and green technology development.
The main presenters were Anne Juepner, Director, of UNDP Seoul Policy Centre, Helena McLead, Deputy Director General and Head of Green Growth Planning and Implementation, Global Green Growth Institute. Secretary General of WeGO, Jung Sook Park, also covered a session regarding the topic “Gender, Smart City and ESG: Cities’ Gender-Responsive Action on Climate Change”
“Creating an environment that allows women to participate in the decision-making processes related to climate change mitigation and adaptation is the most pressing need,” said Anne Juepner, Director of the United Nations Development Programme Seoul Policy Centre.
“Policies addressing the climate crisis without the participation, leadership, and representation of women may exclude their voices and risk infringing upon their rights,” said Helena McLeod, Deputy Director General and Head of Green Growth Planning and Implementation, GGGI.
“Need for technological development to facilitate easier access to disaster-related public services for women is substantial,” said Secretary General, Jung Sook Park
Particularly women, bear the brunt of global challenges as one of the most vulnerable populations. Through this forum, the identification of solutions and driving meaningful change was one of the messages. There is a journey ahead of all of us toward a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient future. This is an opportunity for all stakeholders to come together, share knowledge, and advance each other’s understanding of how climate, gender, and technology intersect to contribute to a better future.
About WeGO
The World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO), is a membership-based international association of local governments, smart tech solution providers, and institutions committed to the transformation of cities into smart sustainable cities through facilitating public-private partnerships (PPP). WeGO was founded by 50 member cities in 2010 as the World e-Governments Organization, hence our acronym. In response to the evolving concept of smart cities, WeGO expanded its vision and mandate at the 7th General Assembly (2017) and its name to the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization. WeGO’s Secretariat is based in Seoul, Korea, and has regional offices in East Asia (Chengdu, China), the Mediterranean (Beyoglu, Turkey), Africa (Abuja, Nigeria), Middle East & North Africa (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), Latin America (Cuenca, Ecuador), and Central Asia (Almaty, Kazakhstan). As the leading platform on smart city development, WeGO’s mission is to share knowledge and good practices in e-Governance; strengthen administrative efficiency and transparency; advance digital capacity; facilitate civic involvement; bridge the digital divide and inequality; and promote cooperation solidarity among cities and local governments around the world.
WeGO serves for its members as their international platform to improve the quality of life, innovate in the delivery of public services, and strengthen regional competitiveness.
Press Contact:
Name: Jin Hwang
E-mail: jin.hwang@we-gov.org
Phone: 02-720-2931