SINGAPORE — A scheme training Filipino women to efficiently run neighborhood stores grabbed top prize at an global UN-sponsored contest aimed at empowering impoverished women in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
“Project Inspire” was launched in March to commemorate the centennial of International Women’s Day.
Contestants, who were judged by economists and academics, had to come up with projects that would better the lives of women and girls in regions where females are often neglected.
The “Hapinoy Program” project, which aims to support 1,000 female owners of “sari-sari” convenience stores in Luzon, won the top prize of $25,000, which will go towards training store owners in business development, management and pricing goods.
A special grant of $10,000 was awarded to a team from Thailand for literacy training to women migrants from Myanmar who live in landfills at the border.
Another $10,000 also went to a team from India whose program aims to benefit abused women from Pingla in the country’s east, where women traditionally earn a living by singing and painting.
The winners were selected from 10 finalists chosen from 450 youth-driven teams worldwide who had to pitch their ideas in a five-minute video or in a written proposal. Project Inspire is a joint initiative by UN Women in Singapore and MasterCard. — Reuters
June 2025
Philippine Environment Month!
“Action for Nature, for the Future!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
1 Jun – World Day of Parents
5 Jun – World Environment Day
7 Jun – World Food Safety Day
8 Jun – World Oceans Day
12 Jun – World Day Against Child Labour
15 Jun – World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
16 Jun – International Day of Family Remittances
17 Jun – World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
20 Jun – World Refugee Day
25 Jun – Day of the Seafarer
27 Jun – Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day
Daily Observances:
June 6: Migrant Workers Day
June 19: Filipino Youth Day
June 25: Day of the Filipino Seafarer
