UN Women unveils priorities for the Philippines and introduces Karen Davila as National Goodwill Ambassador

In a highly attended event by government officials, development partners, advocates, and supportive personalities, UN Women Philippines unveiled its Country Programme Priorities for 2024–2028 and announced the appointment of its first National Goodwill Ambassador, Karen Davila.

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The program commenced with a warm welcome from model and television host Bianca Gonzalez, UN Women Champion, and host for the day, setting the stage for Sarah Knibbs, Deputy Regional Director of UN Women for Asia and the Pacific, who shed light on results of its global and regional initiatives. “UN Women both here in the Philippines and the regional office in Bangkok looks forward to working with all the partners and stakeholders here in the room and in the country to create more equality for women and girls here in the Philippines, in the region, and globally,” said Knibbs.

The current situation of women in the Philippines was presented by Prof. Amaryllis Tiglao–Torres, from the University of the Philippines, in her speech "Filipina Women's Voices: Gains, Goals, Aspirations, and Opportunities," weaving a narrative reflecting the challenges and triumphs of Filipino women.

Lenlen Mesina, Country Programme Coordinator echoed UN Women's commitment to amplifying women’s voices and outlined the organization's country programme priorities, emphasizing support for women in digital technology, STEM, decent livelihoods and promoting women’s leadership and participation accross various sectors and industries.  The focus will be on ensuring women's participation and leadership in spaces where their voice and representation matters. This includes work needed to address and build resilience through inclusive human capital development, climate action, environmental sustainability and disaster risk reduction, inclusive and sustainable economic development, innovation, and decent work.

The spotlight then turned to the formal introduction of Ms. Karen Davila as the first-ever UN Women National Goodwill Ambassador for the Philippines. With over 30 years of experience as a broadcast journalist and staunch advocate for women's and children's rights, Davila expressed her honor at being appointed and shared poignant stories from her engagements, including supporting the Agapay Nanay response in 2021 and leading the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign in the country.

During her intervention, Davila announced exciting initiatives, including the SHESTEMS Awards to support women in STEM education and a leadership mentoring program. Davila shared, “UN Women Philippines has put together a program for mentoring and leadership and we will be focusing on women in areas like Mindanao, the Bangsamoro region, as well as provinces where women don’t have as much access and opportunities for connections and training. This is a long-term program that can help change the lives of many women.” This announcement showcased her commitment to empowering women and fostering inclusive leadership and facilitate women’s access to spaces and platforms where women are still very underrepresented.

Following Davila's inspiring message, she proceeded to moderate an engaging panel discussion, featuring Hon. Senator Loren Legarda and Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Hae Kyong Yu. The speakers discussed key actions to support UN Women's priorities and aspirations for women and girls in the Philippines, reflecting on the country's performance in global gender indices. “There’s no room in our lives for biases. Life and the world are already so chaotic and problematic to be burdened by innate biases, which would further complicate one’s life. So, my suggestion is to just give and push more women law enforcers, women entrepreneurs, women communicators, women scientists, and women dreamers,” said Legarda.

Ambassador Yu concluded that, “what we can all do — and that’s for every single one of us in this room, regardless of your gender, middle-ranking or senior leadership — is to take upon yourself this challenge of sponsoring, backing at least one woman in your life, in your work area. Look around and see the bright, young women who are emerging. Go out of your way to look after them (...) The domino effect is going to be huge.”

Other partners including Maya Tamayo, Executive Director of Bayi Inc.; Commissioner Atty. Faydah Dumarpa from the Commission on Human Rights; and Atty. Kristine Yuson – Chavez, Executive Director of the Philippine Commission on Women also delivered inspiring messages of support. From working together to drive change for women to breaking barriers and biases through institutions and partnerships, the speakers expressed commitment to support UN Women’s priorities and work with other agencies and entities to pursue the feminist agenda.