Interviews

UN Women Asia and the Pacific Regional Director Mohammad Naciri discusses the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women, efforts to implement a gender-fair and gendersensitive pandemic recovery plan, and the continuing partnership between UN Women and ASEAN. He also talks about the role of male leaders, allies, and champions in advancing the gender equality agenda.

Emerging data and narratives from the ground indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the burden on women and girls and may be reversing the global progress made on achieving gender inclusion and equality.

Minister Ing Kanthaphavi talks about ASEAN’s major achievements over the past five years and explains the priorities and plans of the sector in the coming years. She also reflects on the changing employment landscape and how it impacts women in the workplace.

DSG Kung Phoak reflects on the rationale for producing The ASEAN, the challenges of getting it off the ground, and what it has achieved so far. He also discusses the future prospects of the magazine in light of ASEAN’s community-building and communication goals and the trend towards digitalisation.

Josefa is a member of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) Steering Committee, representing indigenous and local youth. GYBN is the official youth constituency to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). She was named a National Geographic Youth Explorer (Fall 2020 Cohort) and awarded a grant for youth-led activities and materials on biodiversity and indigenous people’s rights. She majored in Biology and is working on her Master’s Degree in Wildlife Science.

Josefa talks to The ASEAN about finding her voice as a woman, youth leader, and indigenous person.

The UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Asia and the Pacific, and UNESCO as a whole, and the UN system worldwide, have taken comprehensive action to address the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on education systems while acknowledging continuing challenges in addressing learning loss, potential dropouts, and the disproportionate effect on the most vulnerable learners.

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is a vital cog in creating and maintaining a highly skilled workforce and cultivating lifelong learning. By establishing the ASEAN TVET Council (ATC) in 2020, ASEAN reinforces its commitment to developing the region’s human resources to meet the future of work. Director-General Isidro S. Lapeña of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), as inaugural Chair of the ATC, discusses ATC’s plans for expanding and raising the quality of TVET in the region.