Women empowerment and gender equality are expected to top the agenda this afternoon at the Divine Word University in Madang.
Dressed in purple, in commemoration of International Women’s Day, students are busy preparing for the Australia Foreign Affairs Minister’s visit.
DWU SRC social events coordinator, Rhonda Mirr, told Loop PNG that Minister Julie Bishop is expected on campus at around 3pm.
“Everyone is in purple, especially the females,” says the final year health management student.
“It’s pretty lively here. Everyone’s in a ‘cleaning-up mode’.”
Minister Bishop is in Papua New Guinea to co-chair the 25th Australia–Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum in Madang, together with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Rimbink Pato.
In a statement, Bishop said: “While in Madang, I will celebrate International Women's Day at one of Papua New Guinea's leading universities with young PNG women who are forging careers in science, technology and engineering.”
She arrived in the country on March 7 and will depart on the 9th.
Since 1975, International Women’s Day has been celebrated around the world on the 8th of March. This year's theme is Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50:50 by 2030.