On 21 April, the Ibu Power Women’s Conference 2017 was held to commemorate 50 years of Indonesia & Singapore ties and celebrate Kartini Day for women. Ibu Kartini was the daughter of a Javanese civil servant working in the Dutch colonial government who contributed significantly to the emancipation of women in her time, gender empowerment and education for women.
The event was held at the Embassy of Indonesia in Singapore and the keynote speaker was Dr June Goh, President of the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations and Past President of the AWDS. This was followed by a cultural segment where Dr Goh gamely participated alongside VIPs in a line dance onstage. Following this, there were several sharing sessions by speakers including H.E. Paula Parviainen, Ambassador of Finland to Singapore and as H.E. Lynn McDonald, High Commissioner of Canada to Singapore. Notable panelists included Ms Noor Quek, President of the Breast Cancer Foundation as well as Dr Germaine Xu, Breast & General Surgeon and AWDS member.
The afternoon ended with a fashion show, auction, lunch and a lovely bazaar.