UN Women and Ministry of Gender Equality and Family of the Republic of Korea discuss cooperation plans for "UN Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality"

[Press release]

[from left] Anita Bhatia, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and UN Women Deputy Executive Director and Hyunsook Kim, Minister of Gender Equality and Family. Photo: Courtesy of Minister of Gender Equality and Family, Republic of Korea

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Seoul, Republic of Korea — MOGEF Minister Kim Hyunsook discussed cooperation plans for the operation of the UN Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality at a bilateral meeting with UN Women DED Anita Bhatia at Seoul Government Complex on Tuesday, 11 October.

At this meeting, in the context of the launch of the UN Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality as the first UN Women office established in the Republic of Korea, the MOGEF Minister and the UN Women DED exchanged views on international cooperation to position the Centre as a gender knowledge hub in the Asia-Pacific region to achieve the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and realize a society where no one is left behind.

The UN Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality will provide data through comprehensive research and study to inform the development of gender equality policies, provide education and training for public officials and other stakeholders, and establish partnerships and campaigns with various organizations to contribute to promoting the culture of gender equality in the Asia-Pacific region.

After the government of the Republic of Korea and UN Women signed the Exchanges of Notes on the operation of the UN Women Centre for Gender Equality in February 2022, Lee Jeongshim, former Deputy Minister for Youth and Family Policy Office at the Ministry and former Senior Advisor for intergovernmental support at UN Women, was appointed as the Director of the Centre through an open recruitment process. In August, the Centre started operations with several recruitment processes and an office space that will physically welcome the Centre at the Seoul Global Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

On the same day, the UN Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality held a Steering Committee* meeting to review specific business plans for the Centre on key areas such as ending violence against women, humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction, and gender statistics.

Kim Hyunsook, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, said: “We will actively support the UN Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality so that it can increase policy capabilities for a sustainable future and grow into a leading organization in the international community beyond the Asia-Pacific region.”

Anita Bhatia, the UN Women Deputy Executive Director and also the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, said: “It is a significant achievement for UN Women to partner with MOGEF of the Republic of Korea to launch the UN Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality in Seoul. The Centre will strengthen our partnership with the Government of the Republic of Korea as well as academia, civil society organizations and businesses to promote gender equality across the Asia-Pacific region.”

“We are particularly excited about the Centre’s proximity to Korea’s cutting-edge technology and innovation culture to identify new and effective solutions to achieve gender equality in the Asia-Pacific region,” Ms. Bhatia added.

(Composition of the Steering Committee) MOGEF Director General, UN Women Headquarters Department Heads, UN Women Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific Region, the Centre’s Director, and Korean Women’s Development Institute researchers