By Haidee V. Eugenio
Variety Assistant Editor

TWO professionals from the CNMI will be among the 152 delegates to the 10th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women from May 27 to 31, and the Third Pacific Ministers Meeting on Women on June 1.
Both will be held in Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia.
Brenda DeLisle, the principal investigator for a South Pacific Community-sponsored infectious disease research study, and Debra Cabrera, a professor at Northern Marianas College’s Social Sciences and Fine Arts Division, will represent the CNMI in the two events.
The theme of the conference is “Pacific Women, Pacific Plan: Stepping up the Pace to 2010.”
The challenge for every delegate, according to Human Development Programme manager Linda Petersen, is to take action.
“The statistics across the region compared with other parts of the world show that the Pacific is way behind in every yardstick to do with women’s equality,” she said in a statement posted on the South Pacific Community Web site.
With the exception of Pitcairn Island, the 22 member states which SPC serves are all represented, as well as founding members Australia and New Zealand.
On the conference agenda is the selection of a single Pacific candidate for election to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
The conferences will also tackle the Pacific Women’s Bureau/Human Development Programme report card, gender statistics and indicators for measuring progress in the Pacific, a donor and development partners’ dialogue, a Pacific pageant showcasing traditional and modern Pacific attire, and workshops on a wide range of topics from research studies to a Young Women Leaders practicum.