The Australia Awards and Alumni Engagement Program – Philippines (AAAEP-P) is proud to host the second run of the Regional Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) Alumni Leadership Summit.
This year’s Summit will revisit problems and challenges on inclusion, address cross-cutting issues, and start a dialogue on inclusive actions that will help build resilient communities.
In line with Australia’s International Development Policy, the Summit will strengthen its commitment to promote inclusion and equal opportunity, as well as provide a platform to tackle the pressing issues around climate change to ensure that preventive action or resilience measures are inclusive and responsive to all needs. The 2nd Regional Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) Summit aims to provide an opportunity for knowledge-sharing, networking, and collaboration among alumni from the Philippines and across the Indo-Pacific Region, particularly on addressing key issues on building inclusive and resilient communities.
Now more than ever, our communities must have the capacity beyond relief efforts to respond to disaster and climate risks. How can our communities protect vulnerable groups during natural and human-caused disasters? Are their needs considered when developing and implementing policies and programs? Community initiatives should promote not only social inclusion but also resiliency to ensure that vulnerable groups will continue to receive essential services even amid environmental and societal challenges.
This Summit will focus on the theme GEDSI-liency: A Collaborative Journey towards Inclusive Climate Action.
Participants
The event aims to gather 100 participants, composed of Australia-educated alumni in the Philippines and alumni from the Indo-Pacific region who are in leadership positions across key sectors of society.
A core of highly competent local and international speakers and panelists with high-level expertise and extensive experience in GEDSI and climate change will be engaged to provide key insights and strategies related to the theme. Best practices and practical tools will be presented to initiate meaningful conversations and encourage participant collaboration.
Event Components
The 2-day in-person 2024 Regional GEDSI Alumni Leadership Summit will be held from September 9 to 10, 2024, at the Novotel Manila in Araneta City, Quezon City, Philippines.
A unique component of the Summit is the Interactive Learning Excursions to partner organisations and alumni-led programs that support GEDSI and community resilience. These immersions will include a talk and a visit to institutions led by staunch advocates and beneficiaries of organisations at the forefront of resiliency and inclusion. These will provide interactive and engaging learning experiences for participants as they immerse themselves in practical and concrete action-driven solutions.
A Social Impact Exhibit featuring best practices on inclusion and resilience will be mounted at the Summit venue for participants and key partners. A specialised exhibit of enterprises and projects that benefit women, persons with disabilities (PWDs), indigenous peoples (IP), and other marginalised sectors will be featured through visual displays. The exhibit will include alumni-owned enterprises, Australia Awards Re-Entry Action Plans (REAPs), and Alumni Grants Scheme projects that promote social inclusion, resiliency, and climate change response.
Alumni from other countries will be invited to participate in the exhibit as a platform to share their own alumni initiatives and projects.
The Summit Program will include a series of talks from highly competent speakers, panel discussions and workshop sessions around the theme.