The Chilliwack Times
May 31, 2011
Chilliwack's female mayor has few equivalents in Cambodia, something officials from that south Asian country would like to see change.
"We have the policy to encourage women to be involved with local politics but there is no concrete action," said Say Kosal, president of the National League of Commun/Sangkat (NLC/S) from the Kingdom of Cambodia. The NLC/S is the Cambodia equivalent of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM).
Kosal is in Chilliwack along with NLC/S secretary general Pok Sokundara as part of a delegation visiting to learn about local economic development, intergovernmental relations and the promotion of gender equality in public affairs.
The visit, which receives funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), is an initiative of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and involves delegates from Cambodia, Vietnam, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, Mali and Tanzania.
The Cambodians were given a tour of Chilliwack city hall by Mayor Sharon Gaetz, accompanied by Chilliwack Economic Partners Corporation (CEPCO) president John Jansen on Thursday.
With Sokundara translating, Kosal told the Times the biggest difference he has seen here compared to his home nation was how developed our country is and what a large stock of natural and human resources we have.
He said he was also impressed by the promotion of women in local government, something he is trying to do more of at home.
"We also have programs like this but only with elected women politicians," he said. "We forget to mobilize in the countryside and in the schools."
In Cambodia, 15 per cent of local government officials are women, something Gaetz said actually isn't too bad considering some other statistics.
"Only five per cent [of girls] graduate beyond Grade 5," she said.
Pascal Lavoie, program manager for Asia FCM International, said that 22 per cent of municipal elected officials and 16 per cent of mayors in Canada are women.
Gaetz said speaking with the Cambodians was humbling as they traded stories. For example, talk of irrigating fields in Chilliwack led the Cambodians to point out how this can be difficult in their countryside because of the existence of landmines left over from years of war.
"Cambodia has been very resilient with Pol Pot," Gaetz said. "Two million people were murdered in Cambodia. There are few families that haven't been touched and affected."
Sokundara and Kosal nodded in agreement.
After visiting Cambodia in March, Jansen, too, said the experience was humbling to see how much we have. And he was amazed at the Cambodian people's spirit.
"What impressed me was to see the entrepreneurial spirit of the people," Jansen said.
Chilliwack's female mayor has few equivalents in Cambodia, something officials from that south Asian country would like to see change.
"We have the policy to encourage women to be involved with local politics but there is no concrete action," said Say Kosal, president of the National League of Commun/Sangkat (NLC/S) from the Kingdom of Cambodia. The NLC/S is the Cambodia equivalent of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM).
Kosal is in Chilliwack along with NLC/S secretary general Pok Sokundara as part of a delegation visiting to learn about local economic development, intergovernmental relations and the promotion of gender equality in public affairs.
The visit, which receives funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), is an initiative of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and involves delegates from Cambodia, Vietnam, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, Mali and Tanzania.
The Cambodians were given a tour of Chilliwack city hall by Mayor Sharon Gaetz, accompanied by Chilliwack Economic Partners Corporation (CEPCO) president John Jansen on Thursday.
With Sokundara translating, Kosal told the Times the biggest difference he has seen here compared to his home nation was how developed our country is and what a large stock of natural and human resources we have.
He said he was also impressed by the promotion of women in local government, something he is trying to do more of at home.
"We also have programs like this but only with elected women politicians," he said. "We forget to mobilize in the countryside and in the schools."
In Cambodia, 15 per cent of local government officials are women, something Gaetz said actually isn't too bad considering some other statistics.
"Only five per cent [of girls] graduate beyond Grade 5," she said.
Pascal Lavoie, program manager for Asia FCM International, said that 22 per cent of municipal elected officials and 16 per cent of mayors in Canada are women.
Gaetz said speaking with the Cambodians was humbling as they traded stories. For example, talk of irrigating fields in Chilliwack led the Cambodians to point out how this can be difficult in their countryside because of the existence of landmines left over from years of war.
"Cambodia has been very resilient with Pol Pot," Gaetz said. "Two million people were murdered in Cambodia. There are few families that haven't been touched and affected."
Sokundara and Kosal nodded in agreement.
After visiting Cambodia in March, Jansen, too, said the experience was humbling to see how much we have. And he was amazed at the Cambodian people's spirit.
"What impressed me was to see the entrepreneurial spirit of the people," Jansen said.
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