4th Women’s Summit ends with call to action

Education Commissioner Cynthia Deleon Guerrero, first lady Diann Torres, Frances Sablan and acting Board of Education chair Janice Marie A. Tenorio were among the women leaders-advocates that participated in the ongoing 4th VNMI Women’s Summit.
(Contributed Photo)

The two-day 4th Annual Women’s Summit, hosted by the CNMI Women’s Association and Office of Women’s Affairs, ended yesterday at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe with a call to empower women in the CNMI and give them the information they need.

For the first time, Rota delegates took part in the summit.

Former lawmaker Felicidad Ogumoro, association president and overall chair, was pleased with the outcome of this year’s summit.

“I feel like it was very successful. All the panelists gave key information that were needed to empower women,” she told Saipan Tribune. “…I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and honor our women for all they have done to make our lives here in the CNMI, both for themselves, and their families, successful.”

This year’s theme was “Empowering Women as Leaders of Change.”

The two-day summit had seven panels of discussion on women’s roles in the home and workplace, politics, gender equality and parity, land and the environment, education, as well as entrepreneurship.

In Ogumoro’s remarks, she said this year’s theme is a very special and powerful one. “It signifies our determination to continue building on the progress made to date and to champion the work toward the realization of the vision of women fully participating in all aspects of the development of our Commonwealth.”

The summit was attended by different groups of people: government authorities and leaders from Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and Guam, as well as close to 60 students from across the public and private high schools.

Featured speakers included Viola Alepuyo of Imperial Pacific International and Dr. Julie Ulloa-Heath of the Guam Community College.

According to the registry, 27 delegates from Rota attended this year’s summit.

According to Ogumoro, the number of students that registered to join the summit was about 80 for the first day and for the second day. On the first day, the number of students exceeded 80 and, according to Ogumoro, this was a good thing because the issues being discussed concerned most of the younger generation.

Marianas Baptist Academy’s Katrina Reyes found the topic about women and culture the most insightful. According to her, “I think all the panels did great and gave a lot of insight on how we, as women, play a big role in the community.”

“Growing up, I did not have much insight of the culture…a lot of the language and the history is kind of fading and bringing it back and just to learn more about it is really eye opening,” Reyes said.

On its last day, participants worked toward an action plan and identified a number of resolutions that will direct planning and programs geared toward the engagement and advancement of women in the political, economic, and social development of the CNMI.